This Thing Called War
by The Irish Lass
Summary: AU. Sabrina was an ordinary teenager. Until her family went missing and a fairy named Puck took her to a secret kingdom, hidden under New York. But of course her family's kidnapping had to be a part of something bigger. Alone, surrounded by creatures that aren't supposed to exist, Sabrina finds herself fighting a war that no one can know about.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Sabrina sighed, and stretched out her legs, enjoying the heat of the sun. Central Park was bustling around her, and she reluctantly opened her eyes, searching for her younger siblings, Daphne and Basil, with their new dog, Biscuit (The name? Totally Basil's idea.)

It was September, and the leaves were beginning to change, the air changing from humid and hot to crisp and cool. School had started three weeks ago, and already Sabrina knew she would hate Chemistry. New York was, as always, home to her.

"'Brina!" A shout, Daphne's, called Sabrina out of her musings, and she rose, tucking her history book under one arm as she walked towards her little sister.

"Look, he can sit!" Daphne practically bounced.

"Most dogs can." Sabrina blew her bangs out of her face, huffing in amusement.

"No, I mean on command. Look!" Daphne beamed, and proceeded to order the puppy to sit. He remained standing, tongue lolling out at her. Basil laughed.

"Well, he did." The twelve year old frowned.

"I'm sure he did." Sabrina agreed, winking at Basil. He giggled. "Come on. It's time to go home." She herded the dog and two kids together, insuring they had their coats before beginning the walk home. As they left the park, a shaggy haired, blonde boy (he was cute, part of Sabrina's brain whispered to her) stared at them. She smiled and waved. The smile fell as the boy turned on his heel and stalked away.

"He's rude." Basil proceeded to stick his tongue out at the retreating back.

"Mmhmm." Sabrina hummed, shuffling him forwards, towards home.

~Sisters Grimm~

"How was your day?" Veronica turned her attention to her elder daughter. Supper was long gone, the dishes sitting empty on the table as Basil mashed the rest of his peas.

"It was fine. Mr. Drunsker gave us a thousand word report for history. It's due in two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Henry looked up from his meatloaf, surprise written across his face.

"Yeah. It'll be easy." Sabrina nodded. She shoved the memory of the strange boy far into the corner of her mind, resolved to forget about him and his weird gaze.

~Sisters Grimm~

Unfortunately, forgetting the boy was harder than Sabrina thought it would be. He was in the park the next day, when Biscuit was out for his walk. But this time, he didn't just glance at the Grimm siblings. His eyes followed them the entire time, even after Sabrina glared, a clear note that she had found him out.

He was there the next day, too, but this time, he at least pretended to have something to do, a tablet gripped in his hands. He seemed to be reading between his staring spells. She wondered how he would take it if she walked up to him and asked him why he thought he was being sneaky. He was terrible at it, and she ached to tell him so.

But she didn't.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Mom? Dad?" Sabrina swung her backpack off her shoulder, letting it thunk against the kitchen table. There was no response, which was odd.

They were usually home by now, Sabrina thought, a frown crossing her face. She plucked an apple from the fruit bowl on the table, and pulled her Trigonometry book from her bag, opening it to the most recent lesson.

A knock sounded at the door. Sabrina sat the apple down, shut her book, and stood to get the door.

The knocking grew to pounding. "Coming!" Sabrina shouted, but the pounding didn't cease until she wrenched the door open. A fist stopped, just inches from her face.

She blinked at the hand's owner, then scowled. It was the boy from the park.

He ignored her glare, practically pushing past her into the apartment. "Where are your parents?" He asked, looking around wildly.

"Who's asking?" Sabrina crossed her arms.

"Puck, Crown Prince of Faerie." The boy was still distracted, poking under the table as if he expected two fully grown adults to be curled up there. Which he might have. Sabrina didn't know him.

"I'm sorry, what?" She snorted, wondering if the kid was on drugs. He might be. It wasn't hard to get drugs in New York.

"You heard me." And now the boy, 'Puck', was rooting through the cupboards, dropping pots and pans, salt and cinnamon to the floor in his mad search.

"Look... Puck," Sabrina paused as the boy began to open doors to different rooms. "I have no clue who you are, and I think you should go."

"I told you, I'm Puck, Crown Prince-"

"-Of Faerie. Yeah, you told me." Sabrina paused, taking a breath. "Okay, um... Who are looking for?"

"Veronica and Henry Grimm. They are your parents, aren't they?" He had stopped his search, and was now looking at her with wide eyes, hands jammed into the front pocket of his green hoodie.

"Yeah, but why are you looking for them?" Sabrina was wary now, eyeing the keychain taser by her backpack.

"Because neither of the showed up for work today." Puck responded grimly. "And you weren't in the park at three thirty. Neither were your brother and sister, or the dog."

"What do you mean 'didn't show up for work'? My parents work at a law form. And Daphne and Basil are at school for another hour. There's a school play they want to be in."

"No. They weren't at lunch." Puck explained. "And your parents work for Faerie."

Sabrina blinked at him. "Okay, Puck, time for you to go." She edged towards the table, and the taser. He seemed to know where she was going, and reached over to pluck the taser from the table, tucking it into his pocket.

"You don't know?" He asked, genuine surprise coloring his voice.

"Know what? That you're crazy?" Sabrina was edging again, this time towards the door. "That you've been watching my little brother and sister like a creep?"

"It wasn't just them."

"I know that. God, could you be any more obvious? You've been watching me for weeks!"

"And it never crossed your mind why?" Puck blinked at her. "Veronica asked me to."

"Yeah, and I'm the tooth fairy."

"No you're not. The tooth fairy has red hair and a southern accent. Her name's Natasha."

"I have no idea what you've been breathing, but it's really time for you to go." Sabrina opened the door.

"No." Puck crossed his arms, stubbornness radiating from every pore. "You can't be here alone. Veronica said-"

"Said what? That you're the Crown Prince?"

"Shut up!" Puck exploded, effectively silencing Sabrina. He took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose before exhaling in a great _whoof. "_ Look, it's four o'clock. Where is the dog? Daphne and Basil? Your parents?"

Sabrina shifted uneasily. "I'm sure they're-"

"No, you're not. You have no idea. You don't know who I am, what your parents do, and I'm your best chance."

"Prove it." Sabrina crossed her arms.

"How?" Puck seemed relieved that she was at least listening, and willing to believe him. If he could provide evidence.

"Take me to Faerie."

~Sisters Grimm~

Yeah, yeah. I know. _Why are you starting a new story? You haven't finished your other ones yet!_ Yeah. I get it.

But this was too good to resist. It actually hit me at work, while I was bored out of my mind, looking for some book. What if Veronica and Henry hadn't been captured until later? What if Sabrina was a teenager? How would that affect her personality? Who would she be?

So you are probably at some point going to think that Sabrina is OOC. Just remember that her childhood was entirely different from canon.

Anyway, I just missed Sabrina and Puck. I love Daphne, but Puck and Sabrina? After writing _The College Experience,_ they kinda became my characters. I needed more of them.

So, reviews are beyond welcome! They encourage me to write harder and faster. I might even complete this story. I need to finish my outline first, though.

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Wow." Puck blinked. "That was easier than I thought it would be."

"What?"

"I thought I'd have to kidnap you." Puck heaved a sigh of relief, his shoulders losing some tension. "I didn't think it'd sit well with the neighbors, though."

" _Kidnap me?"_ Sabrina repeated.

"Well, yeah." He shrugged like it was no big deal, as if he threatened to kidnap teenage girls from their homes every day. Which he might. Sabrina suddenly remembered that she had no idea who he was. "Your mom told me that if anything happened, you were to be taken to Faerie right away. It wasn't my idea to stalk you, you know."

"So you've said." Sabrina eyed him warily.

"Let's get going." Puck turned to pull open the kitchen window, swinging the panes inwards.

"Wait a minute." Sabrina held out her hand. "I want my taser-"

"I won't let anyone hurt you." He looked blankly at her.

Sabrina wriggled her fingers, a clear demand. Puck reluctantly reached into his pocket and retrieved the blue taser, dropping it in her outstretched palm. She quickly pocketed it, pulling on her jacket as she opened the door.

"Where are you going?" Puck asked curiously.

"To Faerie." Sabrina said. "Unless you've got a better way of getting out of here." She was suddenly curious.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Puck smirked, and a fluttering sound filled the apartment, two pink wings appearing on his back.

Sabrina gasped in shock, and reached out to touch them, stroking the edge. Puck appeared to enjoy the feeling, the wings pausing in their beating to allow her fingers to linger over them. This was at least evidence of a Faerie, Sabrina decided, as she tugged gently on them, seeing Puck wince. "Oi, don't damage the merchandise." He grumbled.

"Wow." Sabrina breathed. Puck puffed up at the admiration.

"Pink?" She asked.

"Yeah, pink." Puck seemed to deflate, knowing the next words that she would say.

"Pink's not very manly, is it?" A cruel twinkle awoke in Sabrina's eyes.

"Actually, until World War II, pink was the boys' color." Puck looked insulted, his voice conveying how insulted he felt. "But Hitler made homosexuals wear pink triangles so that he could kill them. So now it's a girls' color."

"Touchy subject?" Sabrina smirked. His huff was answer enough.

"Let's go." He grumbled, making to grab her.

"Hey, buddy!" Sabrina glared, skipping a step backwards. "No touching. Or I'll taser your fairy butt from here to next week."

"You want to walk?"

"Well, I'm not flying."

A grin broke out over Puck's face, and next thing Sabrina knew, she was tossed over his shoulder, and they were plummeting out the window. A scream ripped itself from her throat, an exhilarated laugh burst from Puck, and _foosh!_ they were heading upwards rapidly.

" _Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!"_ Sabrina whimpered, clutching Puck's waist. She felt the ripple of laughter leave him again.

"Woo!" He shouted, and Sabrina could feel him change course, but there was no way in heaven she was opening her eyes to see where they were going. Wind whipped at her, tearing at her hair and stinging her face.

Puck stopped, and gently lowered himself to the ground, still giggling as he set Sabrina down. She staggered for a minute, then punched him in the arm. It only made him laugh harder, and Sabrina glared briefly at him before taking stock of where they were.

Central Park, right in front of the Hans Christian Andersen statue. "Seriously? We could have walked here." Sabrina snapped.

"But I didn't want to." Puck shrugged. "Come on." And he placed his hand in the statue's outstretched one, and said with a grin "Knock, knock."

He vanished, leaving Sabrina to gape at the spot he had just been in. Hesitantly, she reached out to the statue, brushing its fingers with her own. "Knock, knock."

The statue's head turned to her, and it smiled. "Who's there?"

A great rush of wind filled Sabrina's ears, and she found herself standing in the middle of a crowded bar. Despite its occupancy, silence reigned, every eye turned to the blonde teenager.

"Finally." Puck pushed his way through the crowd, two cans of pop held in his hands. He tossed her one, and cracked open the other for himself. He gulped half of it without stopping, and then belched loudly. "Come on. You need to meet the king."

He led her through the crowd, which separated quickly for them. Whispers were breaking out, and Sabrina caught phrases of: "It's _her."_ "Veronica Grimm's daughter?" and "It can't be."

Puck ignored these, tossing his can over his shoulder. Sabrina slipped her hand into her pocket and fingered her taser.

They left the crowded bar, Puck' steps sure and swift as he led Sabrina through a maze of hallways, deeper and deeper, further and further away from the exit.

Sabrina hurried to keep up.

Eventually, Puck stopped before a huge, ornate oak door. "Dad's..." He seemed to search for the right word. "a prick." He decided. "But he won't hurt you, just make you really uncomfortable. So don't get riled up, bow and scrape, and he'll leave you alone."

Sabrina gulped, her can of pop still heavy in her hand. Puck reached out and took it from her, setting it on the ground. "Come on." And he opened the doors.

~Sisters Grimm~

Yeah, super short chapter. But I wanted to leave it there. I think the next chapter will be longer.

Thank you for all your kind encouragement, favorites and follows! I was surprised to see the turnout!

I am working on the next chapter of 'Of Cookies and Geometry'. I know, I know. It's been over a month. I'm getting there. Slowly and painfully.

Drop a review!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Puck, I don't-" A balding man in a pinstripe suit, his large nose not leaving his work, said.

"Oberon, I believe it is an interuption you will welcome." Puck interupted. His teasing demeanor had been completely erased, and now he stood straight, shoulders squared and jaw set.

At this, Oberon looked up, his gaze passing over his son to the blonde girl beside him. His eyes widened comically as he scrambled to stand up, smoothing his hair down and brushing invisible crumbs from his suit. "Sabrina Grimm, I presume?" He inquired greedily.

Unceratin, Sabrina glanced at Puck. He gave a barely perceptable nod, and Sabrina turned back to Oberon. "I am." She confirmed.

"You are Henry and Veronica's daughter?"

"Yes..." Sabrina replied hesitantly.

"Good, good." Oberon actually rubbed his hands together. Puck cleared his throat, clearly reminding him of something. "Shut up." Oberon scowled briefly at Puck. As he turned his attention back to Sabrina, Puck stuck his tongue out. Sabrina bit back a nervous giggle. "Are you aware of your parents' work among us?"

"I can't say I am." Sabrina bliinked at. "I didn't know Faerie existed until an hour ago." She admitted. Puck stiffened, and Sabrina sensed too late that she had said something wrong. Oberon looked as if Christmas had come early.

"Well, I am sure someone can inform you." Glee practically coated him in a blanket of rainbow sparkles. "In fact, I would be honored to be the one to tell you of their works."

Sabrina looked to Puck, unwilling to make another mistake. He looked blankly at her, but his eyes were narrowed. No then. "No, thank you." Sabrina shook her head. "I think I can find out without bothering you any more." Disappointment brushed across Oberon's face, but his grin bounded back.

"Well, then, here." He scribbled on a legal pad, ripping a sheet off and handing it to her. "Ask this man. He will be more than helpful."

"Thank you." Sabrina hesitated, wondering how exactly one left the office of a fable king. Puck answered for her, bowing stiffly to Oberon before turning and walking out. Hurriedly, Sabrina bobbed her head and scurried after him.

"What was that all about?" Sabrina asked as Puck retrieved the soda can. He shrugged, and shook the metal cylinder.

"Dad's a jerk." He explained. "And your parents were reforming his system, lowering taxes and cutting luxeries like nobody's business before they went missing." He continued to shake the can. "I'm guessing he wants you to undo their work for him." Lightening fast, he popped the can open, dropped a roll of mentos inside, and flung it into Oberon's office. He smirked as Oberon bellowed.

"Come on. You need to meet Mustardseed. He's way more useful than Dad any day of the week."

~Sisters Grimm~

Mustardseed was smaller then Puck, his brown hair shorter, but the same style of cut. Sabrina wondered if their hairstyles had anything to do with crowns. After all, bangs looked good on a guy wearing a crown.

He was also three times as mature, greeting her as "Lady Sabrina", and glancing disapprovingly at Puck instead of whacking him upside the head when his older brother flung his bedroom doors open instead of knocking.

"I assume Father tried to press his version of events on you?" He sighed wearily after Puck had made his introductions (Mustardseed, Sabrina, Sabrina, Mustardseed. Don't let his looks fool you. He can actually string a sentence together.).

"Yeah, he did." Sabrina nodded.

"I thought so." Mustardseed sighed, but whether it was at his father's actions, or Puck's feet propped up on the desk, Sabrina didn't know. "The truth is, your parents came in here like a whirlwind. In only a few years, they had upset our entire system. Corrupt as it may have been, this system had been in place since man learned to tell stories. But your parents, who weren't even part of our world, came storming in and demanding justice."

Puck snickered. "Well, Veronica stormed." Mustardseed amended.

"Henry followed as the menancing cloud behind her." Puck grinned. "I don't think your dad was too keen on the idea of being mixed up with us."

"Anyway-" Mustardseed spared a glance for his brother, "-soon everyone was clamoring for justice. The nobles didn't know what to do, and by the time Oberon's attention was drawn to it, it was far too late. He grudgingly allowed your parents to rewrite his laws. They publized the reasons forr the recently raised taxes-"

"-Dad wants to build a shelter, hospital and school." Puck put in. "Which would be great if he didn't also need a graveyard for the Everafters working themselves to death to pay his taxes."

"Father's popularity increased with the announcement of his plans. He becamee more lenient to Veronica's requests, allowing her into the judicial system. But after she changed a half dozen laws, obliterated a few more, and wrote new ones, his patience was pretty close to snapping. They were actually supposed to have a meeting today to discuss compromise."

Sabrina snorted. Her mother rarely compromised for anyone besides Henry. But, "Did Oberon kidnap them?" She asked.

"No." Mustardseed shook his head. He wasn't surprised that Sabrina had leapt to this conclusion. "Veronica is far too high profile among the Everafters, and far too well liked. And he did honor her wishes, bring you here."

"What about my brother and sister?"

Mustardseed frowned, the skin around his eye tightening. "We don't know why they were kidnapped and you weren't. I do have a theory, though." He reached out a hand, and hesitated. "May I?"

Sabrina nodded, nerves skittering. A gentle hand touched her forehead, and a jolt shocked through her. "Ow! What the he-"

"Just as I thought." Mustardseed interrupted. Puck snickered. Mustardseed couldn't tolerate swearing. "You are the oldest child, correct?"

Sabrina nodded.

"Excellent." Puck ran a hand through his hair, a grin breaking out over his face. Mustardseed smiled .

"What?" Sabrina asked. It had to be good news, with both of them looking so relieved.

"Your family has a history with Everafters, specifically on your father's side." Mustardseed stood and went to a filing cabinet in the corner, pulling open a drawer and shuffling folders and papers until he emerged with a canary yellow folder. "We keep records of all known humans who deal with Everafters." He explained, flipping through the pages. "Ah. Here we are." He pulled several sheets paperclipped together from the folder.

"Henry Grimm. Married to Veronica Heath. Three children. Grew up in a small Evereafter community, spent several years as a special operative detective for Everafters. He retired in 1999, soon after the birth of his eldest, Sabrina."

Mustardessed paused, flipping the page. "Daughter has been registered as warded. Moragana Le Fay-"

"Wait, the Moragana?" Puck interrupted. "Seriously? She's, like, in the top ten most powerful witches in existence!"

Mustardseed ignored him. "-did the warding herself."

"What does that mean?" Sabrina asked, balling her fists up in her lap.

"It means you've got powers." Puck let out a low whistle. "Warding is really difficult. It's basically an insurance policy. No one really wants to find out your powers, 'cause they're usually dangerous. And it only comes out when the warded feels endangered."

"That's why theey left you alone. It appears Henry wanted nothing more to do with Everafters until a few months ago. Your siblings were never warded, according to our paperwork." Mustarseed shrugged. "It's really impressive, actually."

"But- but-" Sabrina stammered, "-what happened to them?"

"Unfortunately, we don't know yet." Mustardseed heaved a sigh, palcing the papers back into their folder. "It wasn't Faerie's doing, or at least we don't condone the action. As I said, it would be too risky to take your family."

"What I want to know is why Henry wasn't warded." Puck mused. "After all, he grew up around magic. You'd think he would be protected."

"Henry was stubborn. Maybe he didn't want witchcraft worked on him." Mustardseed proposed.

"But then why would he let them work it on his daughter?"

"Maybe the warding was lifted? If he got into a serious accident where his life was in danger, the warding might have been sapped of its energy and have given the last of its power to healing him."

Sabrina watched the two princes debate about her family's lack of safety with a sense of vague horror. In two hours, her life had been ripped apart. Lightheadedness began to threaten, and she sat down on the floor. That called attention back to her.

"But what about her?" Puck pointed. "We can't put her back."

"No." Mustardseed agreed. "Even if no one has attacked her yet, that doesn't mean no one will. And with her undiscovered potential-"

"Shut up." Sabrian pleaded. To their credit, the fairies did. Fairies. She felt slightly lightheaded again just thinking about it.

"What do you want to do?" Mustardseed asked cautiously.

"What can I do?"

"Well..." Mustardseed trailed off, at a loss for words. There was only one obvious option after all, and he didn't want to be the one to suggest it.

"You'll have to stay here." Puck announced, picking at his fingernails. His brother shot him a glare, disapproving of his lack of tact.

"Stay here? No. No way." Sabrina shook her head. "I have no idea where I'm at, I don't know what is going on, and I am without a clue as to who you two are."

"Without a clue is right." Puck mumbled under his breath. "Look, it's too dangerous to be in the mortal world alone. You'll be safer here."

"And we can figure out exactly what your warding entails." Mustardseed added. "We can help you."

"Isn't that what the bad guy always says?" Sabrina snapped, getting to her feet.

Puck laughed.

"What, Fairy Boy?" Sabrina rounded on him, hands flying to her hips. "What is so damned amusing about this?" She shouted. For the love of Pete, she was supposed to be writing an English assignment right now, not wrapped up in a bunch of magic that shouldn't exist.

"You think you have a choice." Puck snoted. "Which you don't, by the way. It's only a matter of time until whoever the real bad guy is figures out how to gt around your warding. And if you're in the mortal world, living alone, it will be that much easier to get rid of you."

Sabrina was beginning to reconsider, Mustardseed was sure of it. "Besides, we have the resources to recover your family."

It was the final nudge. Sabrina hesitated, then nodded.

~Sisters Grimm~

Hey, y'all. I am in full writing mode. And it feels so, so good.

Anywho... I am just going to give you a run down of what's up with me. You don't have to read it, but I am in a chatty mood, so I'm going to write it.

I am working on the outline for this. However, my outlines are supremely flexible, so I have no idea how many chapters this will be, or even all the characters who will come into play.

I have been watching BBC's Merlin. I finished the first season, and I really like it. So if you have Netflix, try it.

Book reccomendations: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I love anything and everything Sarah Dessen has written, but I think I identify with Fangirl a little too much. These are actual, published works, do don't try searching for them on FanFiction.

Do we have any Supernatural fans? If so, I reccomend Playing Pilgrim. I forgot the author, but it should be your first search result in the FanFiction Archives. You don't even have to be part of the fandom to enjoy this one. My sister isn't, and she laughed herself silly.

Thank you for all your kind reviews, favorites and follows. Since there have been no serious questions asked, I have not been too strict about answering reviews. Rest assured that I read them, and take any and all suggestions into thought. Mostly though, I have decided to let the story answer your questions, as I simply do not have the energy to answer all reviews (on any given fanfiction).

'Til Next Time!

-The Irish Lass


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Good." Mustardseed nodded. "We'll get you settled right away. Are your tastes modern or medieval? We have both."

"I need electricity." Sabrina frowned.

"Modern it is, then!" Puck leapt to his feet. "C'mon. It's almost supper time."

"And I need stuff from home." Sabrina continued.

"Dang it." Puck slumped back into his chair as Mustardseed slid a legal pad and pen to Sabrina.

"List everything you need. A team will collect it tonight." He said, shuffling all the remaining papers on his desk together.

"Thanks." Sabrina nodded.

"Have the list done by eleven tonight, and your things will be waiting for you when you wake up." Mustardseed assured.

"But do it later." Puck grabbed her arm and hauled her up. "I'm hungry now." Mustardseed reached over and thawked his brother upside the head. "Ow." Puck removed his hand from Sabrina's arm and reached up to rub his sore head. "What was that for?"

"Don't manhandle guests." Mustardseed frowned. Sabrina grinned. Which brother was in charge here? The crown prince, or his sensible younger brother?

"You want to eat in the bar room, or with the royal family?" Puck asked, turning back to Sabrina. "Here's a hint. You want to eat in the bar room. Mustardseed, she wants to eat with the common people. Someone has to accompany her. No, don't bother yourself, I'll go with her."

Mustardseed's lips twitched. "And get out of our weekly supper with Father?"

"Duh!"

Mustardseed looked at Sabrina. "Do you want to eat out in the bar room. The spaghetti, I believe, is very good."

Puck nodded to her emphatically. "Otherwise you have to put up with Mom and Dad at the same time. And Mom doesn't know you're here." He added. "They're twice as bad when you put them in the same room together. Plus, I wouldn't have to put up with them."

Sabrina blinked, then nodded. She hadn't liked Oberon enough to toss even his obnoxious son into the same room more than strictly necessary. "Yeah. I feel like spaghetti anyway." She swallowed a lump in her throat. Spaghetti was Veronica's favorite comfort food, made when any of them were feeling under weather. And if Sabrina had ever been overwhelmed before in her life, it was now.

"You do know Moth is going to be with our parents, right?" Mustardseed looked suspicious.

"Is she? Great! Now I've gotten out of seeing her too. I think I'll like you, Grimm." He grinned down at the blonde by his side.

~Sisters Grimm~

"So, who's Moth?" Sabrina asked, twirling her fork in the spaghetti. It was very good, as promised. But it wan't quite right. It didn't really taste like it did at home.

Puck, his mouth full of macaroni, pulled a face. He swallowed. "She's my fiancee." He grimaced.

Sabrina blinked at him. "What?"

"I'm over 4,000 years old, Grimm." Puck laughed at her astonishment. "Believe me, this has been a long time coming."

"You don't sound particularly happy about it." Sabrina ventured carefully.

Puck shrugged, placing more noodles into his mouth. "Would you? She's nasty and rude, and she fawns."

Sabrina recoiled as the fairy talked with his mouth full. Her appetite, already stunted, vanished.

"Seriously. I mean, when someone notices my obvious greatness and comments on it, they're only doing what they should. But she-" He broke off and grimaced again. "Ugh."

"And your family?"

"Oh, we all hate each other." Puck shrugged. "Mom and Dad have been married for 5,000 years after all. It wears you down."

"Mustardseed doesn't hate you." Sabrina felt compelled to point out. She had only caught exasperated fondness from the second prince.

"Yeah, but he's only a little over 3,000." Puck explained.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Here." Sabrina handed Mustardseed her list. He nodded, looking over the three page long list.

"Is this all?" He asked, flipping the third paper over and looking for a continuation on the other side.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I'll be here forever." Sabrina joked weakly.

"Mmm. Better to prepare just in case." Mustardseed handed her list back to her. "Now, if you'd like to see your room?"

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina gaped at the room Puck had just ushered her into. He stood behind her, leaning against the door frame, hands in his pockets.

"Wow." It was larger than half of the family apartment. A kitchenette stood off to one side, equipped with a microwave, coffee maker and mini fridge. A full bathroom was across from it, and a fluffy bed stood against one wall.

"Meh." Puck shrugged. "None of us really know what modern is." He flew over her head and plopped on the sofa opposite a wide screen TV. "We kinda had to go off of Mom's reality shows, and since all she watches are the luxury ones... She just it to decorate these rooms. No one lives in them. Most Everafters are from the medieval times, and like to feel as if nothing has changed."

"Your mom did a really good job." Sabrina nodded. "It's not what I'm used to-"

"Don't say that in front of Mustardseed. He's got this idea that we have to make everyone feel welcome and happy. But most of the time, we just want them gone so we can paint on the walls again."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow.

Puck blinked at her, then recalled his earlier words. "I don't know if I want you gone yet or not." He explained. "You'll know, though."

~Sisters Grimm~

I can't help feeling that Puck is a little OOC here. Nevermind. I'll fix it in the next chapter.

Speaking of which... I AM SO SORRY! I thought I updated like a week ago, and was looking on my profile when I realized it had been over a month! didn't mean to do that. Sorry. Sorry. I dn't want to abandon this. I promise I'll finish this fic.

Anywho...

Well, I gotta go. I should be writing a one-shot for Supernatural. Actually, I'm supposed to be reading the Lord of the Rings for my English Lit class this fall. But I don't wanna.

Leave a review to tell me you read it!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sabrina woke up on a cloud.

At leat, that's what it felt like. Soft and fluffy, the bed in this new room felt like she was on a fresh marshmallow.

Blearily, she sat up, pushing the covers back. She glanced at the alarm clock and shrieked at the blinking numbers.

How could it be ten o'clock! She was late for school! Sabrina leapt out of bed, fumbling to pull on her clothes from the day before, forgetting one sock as she struggled into her boots. She cursed the alarm clock which obviously hadn't been set. What was the point of an alarm if it didn't go off when you needed it to?

She threw open the door, running a hand haphazardly through her hair, and knocked Puck in the face with aforementioned door.

"Ow!" The fairy yelped, his hand flying to cup his bleeding nose. "Grimm! You messed up my perfect face." It was already healing, the swelling reducing as Sabrina stared at him, and the blood flow drying up.

"I'm late." She explained, shoving aside both her surprise and Puck. "How do I get out of here?"

"Late for what?" Puck scrubbed at the drying blood with his sleeve, creating a smear across his face and shirt.

"School." Sabrina marched resolutely down the hall.

"School? Why would you go to school?" Puck asked, flitting above her head. "Anyway, you can't."

"I have to go to college." Sabrina explained breifly, opening a door and peering through it. When the contents were revealed to only be an office, she shut it, and tried the next. This one lead to another hallway. She stepped in, allowing the flying fairy to follow her. "And what do you mean, I can't?"

"Duh. You're pretty well known, right?" Puck settled down in front of her, his wings disappearing once more into his hoodie.

"We call it popular, where I'm from." Sabrina injected wryly.

"Whatever." Puck waved this information away as if it were a useless detail. Which, Sabrina realized, it kind of was. "Anyway, people know you. They'll be asking about your little brats, and your parents. They'll wonder about why you suddenly don't invite them over anymore. Then there will be notes from the teacher that need signed by parents. And you won't be able to produce said signatures. And-"

"Okay, okay. I get it." Sabrina scowled, new grief washing over her at the reminder that her entire family was missing. Now she felt a little stupid. Of course she couldn't go back to school. As annoying as he was, Puck was right. "But I have to put in my Junior year to go to college!"

Puck grimaced. "You want to do school, so that you can do more school?"

"Yes."

Puck shrugged. "Whatever floats your ship."

"Boat. The saying is 'whatever floats your boat'."

"Whatever." Puck scowled breifly at her. "I'm a Prince of Faerie, I can say it however I want. Anyway, Mustardseed, weirdo that he is, already thought of that. He already pulled you from school, and you're being tutored by some dude he dug up from who knows where."

"Oh." Sabrina managed to say.

"Don't tell me you're disappointed!" Puck stared at her. "Who would want to go back to that school? It looked like a prison." He paused, thinking for a second. "Well, better than our dungeons, I guess. I think something's growing down there. I might put it in Moth's bed." He brightened considerably at this thought.

"Anyway, breakfast." Puck grinned, white teeth flashing at the promise of food. "Pancakes sound good. Want to go to the barroom again?"

~Sisters Grimm~

"We have to add magic to your school courses." Mustardseed was typing on a laptop, making Sabrina's scheduale. He had insisted on doing it, saying that "I wonder what kids do in school now. Most weren't even literate when we retreated to our underground Faerie kingdom." So he called it a learning experience. Puck had called him a control freak. Neither his brother nor Sabrina paid any attention to him.

"Magic?" Sabrina asked.

"It's coursing through your blood, Grimm." Puck interjected. He was sharpening a long dagger (it looked more like a short sword than anything.), feet propped up once more on the desk, reclining in the swivel chair. Sabrina hoped he would cut his knee.

Mustardseed nodded in agreement with his brother. "Magic is in you, closing off enemies. Wouldn't it be best to understand it?" Sabrina nodded reluctantly.

"I'm thinking a history of magic, as well as practical appliication."

"He means they're going to teach you to use the magic in you." Puck broke in again, now flipping his freshly sharpened dagger in his hands. Mustardseed watched warily, cringing as the blade came close to scratching his desk.

"Oh, relax, you sissy." Puck stowed the dagger, and stood up to stretch. "If you're any good with the stuff in you, we might even-"

"Puck." Mustardseed hissed. Puck rolled his eyes, but didn't continue.

"You might what?" Sabrina asked, eyes narrowing as Mustardseed closed the laptop, and Puck ignored her. She had asked some pretty stupid questions today, but none of them had been ignored. Why were they avoiding her now?

"It's nothing. Puck was being an idiot." Mustardseed smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Worry clouded them.

"Hey. I'm not an idiot. I am the future-"

"So we've heard." Mustardseed interrupted. Sabrina frowned. The brothers weren't telling her something. Whatever it was, she was going to bet it was big, for both of them to shut down this abruptly.

~Sisters Grimm~

"So magic has always been a part of history." Sabrina's tutor, a mousy man named Mr. Wiskers, finished.

Sabrina nodded. "So you've been saying."

Mr. Wiskers rubbed his hands together nervously. "Tomorrow, someone will be coming in to teach you about appilication of magic."

Sabrina sat up straighter. "Who?"

"A man named-" Mr. Wiskers checked his notes. "Jacob Grimm."

~Sisters Grimm~

Well, well. And so the plot moves. Mwa-ha-ha!

Jacob Grimm... Now who could that be? I can't wait for the next chapter!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jacob Grimm almost literally waltzed into Sabrina's makeshift classroom on Monday morning, his coat spinning and swirling with him. "Hello, Peanut!" He sang, dropping down to sit on the teacher's desk. "And good morning." He added as an afterthought.

Sabrina was too busy staring to answer. His coat was long, almost a trenchcoat in a shade of army green, obviously made of wool. It wasn't that that caught her attention, though. It was a patchwork of pockets, zippered and buttoned and snapped shut. Sticks poked out of various pockets, strings and charms from others.

Jacob chuckled at her astonishment, drawing her eyes, finally, to his face.

Jacob Grimm was handsome, in a rakish sort of way. His hair was in obvious need of a cutting, and was pushed out of his face as if he had run a hand though it after his shower, combing the locks roughly over the top of his head. he probably had done just that, actually. His nose was crooked, the bridge protruding out further than was originally intended, and only added to the general scruffy charm he possessed. But what really caught her attention was his eyes. They were a clear blue, the same shade as her father's, as well as her own.

Jacob laughed, obviously used to the way strangers stared at him. "Any questions?" He teased.

"Uh... Grimm is an unusual name?" Sabrina blinked.

"And you would know, wouldn't you, Sabrina Grimm?" Her teacher shot back, settling more firmly onto the desk, and not into the chair beside it.

"Are we related?" Sabrina blurted, then turned red.

Jacob raised an eyebrow, slight smile still in place. "What do you think?" He posed the question.

"Your last name is Grimm." Sabrina started, then paused and added, "your eyes are the same color as my father's."

"Lots of people have tha same last name, and even more people have blue eyes." Jacob prompted. "Keep going."

"You're involved in fairy tales, and so was my dad. Not too many people named Grimm with blue eyes can boast that." Sabrina ventured.

Jacob nodded. "And?"

"Dad never talked about his family much. He said they were all gone. Not dead, he never said that. Just gone."

"Well," Jacob grinned, broad and blindingly white, "you're definitely a Grimm. Detective tendencies and all."

"Are we related?" Sabrina pressed.

"As it were, yes." Jacob nodded, his smile falling. "I'm your uncle. Henry's little brother."

"But why didn't he talk about you? At all?" Sabrina, personally, couldn't go anywhere without mentioning her little siblings, and how smart Basil was, how cheerful Daphne was. Thinking about them brought a lump to her throat. Mustardseed and Puck were no closer to finding her family than they were two weeks ago.

Jacob nodded, as if he had expected this question. "Your father and I did something very stupid, something we were told to never even think about doing. The thing is," and the smile was back, this time a little crooked, a little remorseful, and guilty. "We were never very good at following directions."

Sabrina tried to envision this. Her father, who wouldn't turn on the car before everyone had their seatbelts on, who had handed Sabrina her tazer, who hadn't taken Basil's training wheels off his bike until he was certain his son could roll on his own without them. She couldn't imagine it.

"Oh, I'm sure he's changed since then." Jacob laughed at his niece's astonishment. "If anything could cure him of recklessness, this was it." He paused before continuing. "Wiskers explained all about magical barriers to you, didn't he? They are a pretty major part of history."

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. A magical barrier can be sat up, like a dome, around a certain area to keep Everafters in, but it allows them to come in, and humans to come and go as needed. I don't think it's very fair, though. I mean, what happens if a Everafter wanders in there by accident? They're stuck there."

"Exactly." Jacob agreed. "Well, the original Grimms that everyone knows, Jacob and Wilhelm, brought a shipment of Everafters over to America to escape the Witch burnings. They set up a settlement by the Delaware, and called it Fairyport Landing. Fairy as in, of course, the actual thing with wings. The name was later changed to Ferry as in boat to avoid detection." He paused, obviously considering what to add next. "Anyway, Fairyport was supposed to be a safe haven for all Everafters. And it was. Unfortunately, when you have an undetermined life span that could very possibly be forever, you get bored. Soon, the Everafters were warring. They wiped out several American Native civilizations, pushed the Spanish out of hardwon territory, and even planted the roots for the French and Indian war, the Revolution and the War of 1812."

"Obviously, this couldn't go on. So Jacob, now over eighty years old, went to the local witch, Baba Yaga. He made a deal with her. If she would build a barrier, he would ensure that at least one member of his family was held within it at all times. If he didn't, then, well, the barrier would automatically fall."

"'Course, several generations of Grimms fulfilled this oath. Unfortunately, Jacob was the only brother to have children, and even then, only one son. So the family has always been small, to the point where your father and I were the last descendants. So it was us, and your grandparents. One night, their twentieth wedding anniversary, they left town, and told us that under no circumstances were we to leave the house. We didn't listen, as you can guess. Two teenage boys, in a town full of pretty young women to impress? Yeah, we weren't staying in. We left. We had no intention to go through the barrier, but we did. By two inches."

Jacob rubbed his forehead. "It was stupid, really. A dare from Henry's girlfriend to jump into the river, fully clothed. She didn't know where the barrier was, and we didn't know the exact perimeter. So we did it. And the barrier that had been standing for over to hundred years fell. The Everafters left, monsters and all. Bluebeard committed several murders before I tracked him down last year. Worst of all, the Jabberwocky got lose."

"Jabberwocky?" Sabrina asked.

"A Jabberwocky is two tons of evil, scaly teeth and claws. It attacked us as it was leaving. But Dad-" Jacob paused and swallowed, swiping a rough hand across his eyes, "-Dad and Mom got back just as it found us. Dad was out of the Jalopy, running towards us before it could scratch us. Instead, it bit down on him." Jacob stopped, digging through his pockets until he unearthed a handkerchief and blowing his nose. "Dad was dead by the time I found the right wand and killed the thing." He stopped.

Horror and morbid curiosity kept Sabrina silent.

"I left to hunt down ever evil thing we set lose the day after his funeral. Your father left for New York. I didn't hear from him again until he sent a wedding invitation. He refused to be pulled back into Everafter affairs not too long after your birth. He put his foot down, and told me to do the same. I ignored him, and we didn't talk again."

"But why was Dad here then?"

Jacob smiled crookedly. "Mustardseed tells me Veronica was too much like a Grimm. She found the Everafter community in New York only a few weeks after you were born. She began working almost immediately, pulling Henry in with her. He was terrified of losing her, more than he worried about re-entering the Fairy Tale world. Soon, due to their law degrees, they redesigned the judicial system here, and Everafters began paying to have them work their cases. Your apartment is actually owned by one of their clients who was accused of murder. He gives your family free rent as payment."

Sabrina stared at him.

"Just because we haven't talked doesn't mean I don't keep tabs. Veronica and I kept up a pretty regular correspondence actually. It was one of my first clues when they went missing. That's why I'm here. To teach you about magic and to find our missing family. So, shall we start?"

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina was allergic to magic. Jacob saw it the minute he handed her a wand.

Power had filled Sabrina, making her feel unstoppable, terrifying, dauntless. A crazed look had entered her eyes, Puck backing away as she willed the wand to emit sparks. He snatched the stick from Sabrina, returning it to Jacob, who tucked it into his pocket.

"What's wrong?" Sabrina fought the urge to attack Puck, her fingers itching to have the wand back in their grasp.

"Dang it. Complications." Jacob uttered under his breath, presumably words that most people weren't supposed to know.

"You're allergic to magic." Puck explained. "Which is a major pain in the butt, 'cause it's in you."

"What does that mean?" Sabrina asked. The powerful feeling was fading, making her calm.

"Well, if you're allergic to something in you, it ain't good." Puck explained.

Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Puck's right. With the warding, you're mostly safe from attacks. But if you get into serious danger, the powers will lash out, and stay out. That feeling you got? You'd feel it all the time. It would make you reckless, taking greater and greater risks, until you took one too big. It would kill you." Jacob explained further.

"So you'd have to have the warding out as soon as possible. The only way to do that is to burn it out, which would require major mojo. And if you weren't successful, you'd just build up its resistance." Puck continued. "It's hard to get rid of warding, I think it's only been done a few times since I was born."

"Great." Sabrina huffed. "Now what?"

Jacob shrugged, turning to Puck. "You probably know more about warding than I do."

"Obviously you can't go into dangerous situations." Puck frowned. "It might unleash it. Only problem is, the warding would come out whether the threat was magic or not. So you can't have any more magic lessons. It would only rile it up more. The good news is, you'd have to be near dead for your warding to come out. It wasn't done by some backyard witch, but by Morgana. Most warding would burn itself out fixing you, but this would both heal you and arm you. Moragana knows what she's doing."

"No more magic lessons, so we'll have to rely on physical training." Jacob nodded pensively. "That's fine. Henry was naturally gifted, and if you're allergic to magic, there's a good chance you'll have his talents. Morgana wouldn't have given you something that could kill you if she didn't think you could prevent it."

"But then why do warding at all?" Sabrina asked, confused as the two magic experts debated on her best chances for survival.

"Last resort." Puck explained.

"But why not just a healing ward? Why the full on armor and all?" Sabrina questioned.

"I have a feeling we're going to find out." Jacob wasn't smiling. He was tight lipped, a small crease between his eyebrows.

Sabina turned to Puck and saw the same expression mirrored on the normally nonchalant and playful prince's face. Dread opened a pit in her stomach. What was so terrible that these two would fear it?

~Sisters Grimm~

And so the plot thickens! Mwa-ha-ha!

I think you all see where this is going. But hey, I love it anyway. Don't worry, more plot twists coming! I hate predictable plots. They're more boring than the math I've been avoiding all summer.

I apologize that there was no Mustardseed in this chapter. I love him, and his sassy, strict ways. He's so cool.

What'd you think of Jacob's description?

Reviews are loved, cuddled and re-read until I have them memorized!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Physical training, it turned out, was completely and utterly exhausting.

Sabrina hadn't exactly been expecting yoga or anything, but this? This was brutal.

For one thing, the only warrior around who would take such a late beginner, was Puck. Sabrina had laughed when Mustardseed described his brother as a warrior.

"I wouldn't take it so lightly." For the first time since Sabrina had entered Faerie, Mustardseed looked at her with something akin to disappointment. "He has been alive for over four thousand years. How many forms of fighting do you think you can master in four thousand years when there's very little better to do?" He paused, and smiled. "Puck is one of the best fighters in the Faerie Army. I know you wouldn't think it to meet him, but he has been an integral part in various wars over the years. Just give him a chance."

Sabrina had agreed, and started taking lessons from the Faerie Prince. He was definitely good, his swordsmanship a science and art combined, his various martial arts abilities executed perfectly, and several other skills he demonstrated (he was showing off, Sabrina was sure. Mustardseed had told her there was no need to learn jousting.) including archery, done beautifully.

Unfortunately, he was also an Everafter, and expected Sabrina's limitations to be far beyond what they were. This had made for a miserable first few weeks, until they found a balance. Puck's first lesson was on physical strength, where he demanded push-ups, curls, crunches, cycling and even swimming. After that (She was declared 'Wimpy.") he decided to work on endurance and strength, putting it into her lessons.

"If you're ever bored, turn on the TV, and start doing push-ups." He instructed.

Sabrina found this idea laughable. Free time? Where was she supposed to get that? Between her usual schoolwork, SAT studying magic lessons, college applications, and now Puck's torture sessions, free time was as thin on the ground as news about her family.

She was honestly surprised she found time to sleep.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Third form, Grimm." Puck barked cheerfully, fluttering through the air above his pupil. None of his commands, no matter what insults they carried, were ever meant maliciously.

Sabrina yawned, and pulled her aching limbs into the third position, sword held out in a forty five degree angle from her body line, one foot braced behind the other.

"And fourth." Puck continued. Sabrina obeyed clumsily, swiveling the sword (wooden, of course. Puck had wanted to give her a real one in the first lesson, but he had shouted him down.) to her side, planting her feet further apart.

"Sixth." The fairy was floating through the air on his back, gluing arrow fletchings and shafts together, the bottle of glue resting on his stomach.

Sabrina yawned again, but swung the sword to the right.

"And... tolerable." Puck announced, dropping into a chair, and allowing the glue bottle to fall to the ground. "I think even you are able to do the basic forms." He looked immensely satisfied. Sabrina slumped, letting the sword's tip touch the ground. She was just so, so tired. Maybe she could skip Math tomorrow. She was passing, after all. She could just sleep in.

"Get some sleep." Puck commanded. If Sabrina thought her zombie like state had gone unnoticed, she was wrong. Both he and Mustardseed had noticed, and cancelled the rest of her classes for the next three days. "You teachers have something better to do than watch you for the rest of the week, so you can do whatever it is you occupy your pathetic life with."

Sabrina gaped at him.

"Something on my face?" Puck smirked.

"Days off?" She whispered.

"Yeah." Puck nodded, pleased that she liked it. It had been his doing. Mustardseed only found out after Puck had shoved the teachers out of classrooms.

"But I can't!" Sabrina wailed, tears welling up in her eyes.

Puck stared. "Umm... Yeah, you can." Why was she crying? Didn't she like it?

"No, I can't!" She was definitely sobbing now, and Puck pushed himself out of his chair and her into it. Isn't that what you were supposed to do? Force the blubbering mess into a chair so that her snot got all over herself and not the rug?

"Why not?" Puck asked, genuinely mystified.

"I need to go to college, and I have to pass French, and my transcript-"

"Whoa. The King of Evil does not do school." Puck interrupted mid-rant. "Grimm, you do realize you've been working seven days a week? No snow days or anything? You're ahead, if anything."

Sabrina looked up at him. "All week?" She repeated quietly, disbelievingly.

"Yep." Puck sensed that this was the right direction to go. "And Mustardseed looked it up. You're way ahead of most kids."

Sabrina sniffled, and dug in her pocket. Good. If she was looking for a tissue, then the waterworks must be over. "Then- then I can have a few days off?" She asked hopefully, blowing her nose.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Grimm. You can have a few days off. Now go to bed. You're making less sense than usual."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina slept in until ten the first day. Mustardseed had nodded when Puck told him.

"Of course she did." He stated.

"She's weak." Puck grumbled, putting together a hand grenade that he intended to fill with rancid meat juice and set off in Oberon's office.

"She's human." Mustardseed looked up from his notes. "Humans need more sleep than us."

"I know." Puck groaned. "But Grimm is so... Girly. I mean, she smells nice, she curls her hair, heck, I think she washes her clothes."

Mustardseed smiled. "I think her hair is naturally curly. And some people smell good because they take baths."

"No, she smells... Different. Like Mom's perfume, or cinnamon." Puck frowned.

"And you noticed?" Mustardseed's voice held barely contained glee. Puck glared at him.

"Don't you say it."

"Say what? That Moth better look out?"

A highly undignified squeak followed as the two royals sprawled out wrestling on the floor.

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina came out of the bathroom, rubbing her hair dry on a towel. It was the second day of her mini vacation, and she was feeling much better. A good night's sleep, two nights in a row, had been most of it.

A yellow envelope caught her eye. It was resting on her pillow, and she felt a vague sense of paranoia, knowing that someone had been in and out of her room while she was in the shower, without her knowing it.

She reached over and picked the envelope up, taking in the 'Ms. Sabrina Grimm' written across the front in silver ink and cursive.

Frowning, she tore it open, and a single piece of cardstock fell into her hand.

The Royal Family cordially requests your attendance to dinner, October 21, 2015.

Please dress respectfully.

-Tatiana and Oberon, seventh King and Queen of Faerie.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Great." Puck groaned when he saw the invitation. "Dinner."

"I thought you loved food." Sabrina lifted a single eyebrow at the fairy lounging across her bed.

"I do. Which is why family dinner is so awful. It puts me off for hours!" His green eyes were wide and imploring, begging her to understand. "Between the fighting and the simpering, who needs Keeping Up with the Kardashians?" Sabrina had recently introduced him to the world of reality TV. Puck was both horrified and hooked.

"That bad?"

"Worse. See this little note? The Please dress respectfully part? That means they expect suits and ties, and ballgowns, not a button down and jeans." Puck moaned. "And they'll be interrogating all of us all evening."

"Why you?" Sabrina asked.

"Mustardseed and me." Puck corrected. "They'll want to see what the Faerie Princes have been putting all their time into. Why Daddy Dearest has had to do his own dirty work for once."

"So I just have to make a good impression?" Sabrina asked. She didn't think she wanted to accept the invitation now.

"With our family, that's impossible."

~Sisters Grimm~

Hello! I am back. Trying to update weekly here. I don't think it's going too hot.

As a side note, before I get reviews complaining about Sabrina's OOCness, I have to clarify something. Lack of sleep makes me absolutely crazy. So Sabrina's reactions? Yeah, they'd be mine.

Anyhow, remember how I said I wouldn't be responding to reviews? What a load of claptrap that turned out to be. I can't resist. People say they love it, and I have to thank them! People have questions, well, I can't leave them hanging. I think I have some sort of mental illness.

Review Replies!

Guest: Thank you! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Nisaath: Thank you! I'm glad you think all my chapters are great, and thank you for telling me what you thought of Jake.

So... Puck. Did I do a better or worse job? I can't get Jace (from the Mortal Instruments) out of my head lately. And that sucks, 'cause I hated him, and I think Puck is going down that dark path.

Reviews are as snuggled and loved as my brother's puppy, who is the cutest little sucker this side of the world.

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	8. Chapter 8

Sabrina tugged nervously on her dress. Beside her, Puck ran a finger around the collar of his shirt, simultaneously loosening his tie and scratching against the starch.

Mustardseed frowned at them, looking completely at ease in his own tuxedo. "Stop that." He reached over to yank Puck's hand away from his collar, then straightened his older brother's tie. Puck squawked as his air supply was momentarily cut off.

"Stop whining." Sabrina spared a frown, rubbing her sweaty hands against her dress. They slid slickly off, leaving all the perspiration behind. She glowered down at the blue satin, then at Mustardseed, who shrugged.

"You were the one who said you needed a dress, Grimm." Puck put in his two cents. "And you let Mr. Propriety choose it on his own."

Mustardseed smiled. "And I picked a beautiful dress." He declared sunnily.

This, Sabrina had to admit, was true. It did not mean she had to like it.

"Admit it, you had your girlfriend help you." Puck shoved his brother.

Mustardseed blushed lightly. "So? Rapunzel has excellent taste."

"Obviously not. She's dating you."

"Shh." Mustardseed cocked his head. "Stand up straight." He hissed, coming to attention, hands at his side, chin in the air. Puck responded by slouching. Sabrina poked him as the huge oak doors before them creaked open, allowing them to see the Faerie Royalty's dining room.

It was, in a word, extravagant.

The walls were gilded, carved baseboards tracing the perimeter of the room in a blatant show of wealth. Above their heads, the ceiling was expertly painted, swirling characters dancing across open fields, closed forests, and a clear creek.

There was a giant fireplace at one end of the large room, its glow reflecting off the walls to showcase the giant table set in the center of the floor. Sabrina guessed that there was more silver on the table than there was on King Henry VII's in the documentary she had watched for history the same day.

But at the table sat three figures. Oberon was at the head, his hands expertly tapping away on his phone. At the foot of the table, a woman in an elaborate ball gown was filing her nails. The last person was a girl about Sabrina's age, sitting up straight, her hands folded in her lap.

"Finally." Oberon looked up from his phone, scanning the three teens. "I have negotiations to finish. Sit down and let's eat."

And with this welcome, Sabrina found herself ushered into a seat beside Mustardseed, as Puck scowled and sank down to sit beside the other girl.

The woman put away her nail file, tucking it into the folds of her skirt, and leaned forward to peer at Sabrina.

"She is a human." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Flat and simple, it told Sabrina nothing about her thoughts.

"Mother, this is Sabrina Grimm. Ms. Grimm, allow me to introduce you to her majesty, Queen Tatiana." Mustardseed intoned. "This," He inclined his head to the girl seated beside Puck, "is Moth, financee of Faerie's Crown Prince."

"Yo." Puck saluted.

Oberon glared at his older son, before turning a sunny smile to Sabrina. She couldn't help but notice it didn't reach his eyes. "Don't be alarmed. We're just a simple family gathered for supper."

Puck choked.

~Sisters Grimm~

"That was the worst night ever." Sabrina groaned as soon as she was a respectable distance from the dining room.

"Nah." Puck shook his head. "The worst night was that time that Mom-"

Mustardseed elbowed his brother.

"What? The entire court knows!" Puck protested, rubbing his sore side.

"And you know that they're not to talk about it." Mustardseed chided.

"What are they going to do? Make me marry Moth?"

"You poor thing." Sabrina reached up to ruffle his hair. Normally, this would have been a insult. But having met the cold fairy, Sabrina couldn't help but pity him.

Moth had spent the entire dinner simpering to the family while cutting Sabrina and her family down. Snide comments about family history and professions gave way to thinly veiled insults against humans that had Sabrina's fists clenching around her fork.

"Tell me about it."

"Why? You whine enough already." Sabrina teased, pulling bobby pins out of her hair. Screw it. Next time this happened, she was going in jeans and a hoodie, decorum be damned. If Tatiana could ignore Moth's insults, she could ignore Sabrina's interpretation of the dress code.

And there was going to be a next time. Oberon had been all too quick to extend the invitation, and Mustardseed had stepped on her foot as a warning, his quick glance prompting her to accept.

Mustardseed laughed, even as Puck pulled a face.

"It really wasn't that bad." Mustardseed continued his brother's train of thought.

"Yeah." Puck snorted. "This time the chicken didn't end up launched at the wall because it was cold."

"That was Dad, in case you were wondering." Mustardseed sighed.

"How exactly did you end up the normal one?" Sabrina gaped.

"Books." Puck explained.

"Well, it wasn't Netflix." Mustardseed shot back.

Sabrina laughed. She had been the one to introduce Puck to the world of Netflix by watching Ken Burn's documentary on the Civil War. He had quickly found Star Trek, blazing his way through the original series, then the spinoffs, before finding an abundant supply of more modern shows. He was currently trying to catch up on the Once Upon a Time episodes.

"Anyway, we don't have to associate with them for another two weeks." Puck sighed. "Which is great, because I really don't want to see Moth... Ever."

"You won't see them again for two weeks?" Sabrina asked incredulously.

"Uh, no." Puck stared at her. "And it's a good thing, Grimm. Mom's going shopping tomorrow, and it's always torture to hear about that."

"You don't spend any time with any of them outside that room?"

"Well, there is the twice yearly ball." Mustardseed considered. "And the monthly meeting of our government."

"And it's way more than enough." Puck scowled. "Simpering nasties." He shuddered.

"You know what that word means?" Sabrina teased, pausing to pull off her heels.

~Sisters Grimm~

"So… We might actually have something."

It was a Saturday afternoon in late November. Sabrina had been in the Faerie kingdom for seven weeks, learning to handle a weapon, conjugate a French verb and now court etiquette. The 'Family dinners' hadn't let up, and Mustardseed had decided it would be a good idea for her to learn some basic Faerie laws and manners. Puck had belched when his opinion on the matter was asked.

But there had been nothing to indicate where her family might be.

"Really?" Sabrina ran around the desk to stare at the papers the Faerie prince had strewn around him.

Puck grinned. "I found it." He boasted.

Mustardseed rolled his eyes. "And he was to one to find it." He pushed a photograph at Sabrina. She took it.

A bright red hand print stood out starkly against a white wall.

~Sisters Grimm~

Yeah, I'm terrible.

I AM SO SORRY. I swore I'd never be one of those authors who update every three months, but here I am.

How many of you thought I was setting up a love triangle between Puck, Mustardseed and Sabrina? Because that was never my intention. Too much drama.

Review Replies!

GriffinGirl8655: I hated Jace, and I hated Cassandra Clare's books. Everyone was too perfect.

IsiGrace: Thanks! I'm glad you like it so much. Yeah… I can't survive six days of school. It must suck to be Sabrina.

tufferthanyou: Thanks! I'm always happy to hear that people enjoy my interpretation of the character. I love writing Puck and Sabrina. It gives me warm fuzzies.

Delusional Apple: Never be sorry for a review. Ever. Unless it's a flame. Then be ashamed. Anyway, I'm overjoyed to hear that you liked it!

HowToBeAFangirl: Thanks!

Guest: Uh… Why are you confused?

Guest: What do you mean I have so much sarcasm? I would never!

Guest: Will do!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay?" Sabrina pushed the photo back to the Faerie prince. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Surprisingly enough, it was Puck who answered. "A totally not awesome threat."

"Thank you for that amazing clear up." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Puck's right. It's a threat." Mustardseed interrupted before the two could start fighting. "And any threat, Puck, is 'totally not awesome.'" Puck stuck his tongue out.

"Well then, what is it? And what does it have to do with my family?" Sabrina asked.

"Sit." Mustardseed suggested, shuffling papers. After Sabrina had sat down, and Puck had comfortably situated himself floating over their heads, he began. "It's a sign of the Scarlet Hand." Mustardseed announced grimly. "And that," he paused, "is definitely a threat."

"Yeah, yeah. Get on with it." Puck yawned, muttering "Drama queen."

"It's a new uprising." Mustardseed continued, ignoring his brother. He tended to do that a lot, Sabrina noticed. "And it's definitely Everafter in nature, which means twice as much trouble. We're relatively certain that they were the ones who took your family. And no," He intoned, "We can't go get them now."

Sabrina, who had started to get out of her chair, deflated. "Why not?" She demanded. "We know who they are."

"Actually, Grimm, we don't." Puck came down to stand behind his brother. "You heard him, it's a new uprising. We have no idea who's leading them, we don't know how many there are, and we don't know where they are."

"And that's why you haven't been seeing your uncle, either." Mustardseed said. "He's holed up somewhere in the castle trying to figure it out."

"Well, that explains the lack of homework." Sabrina muttered. "But you don't know anything yet? It's been weeks!"

"Has it?" Puck rolled his eyes. "I certainly never noticed."

"We found the handprint the day after your family went missing. It was in your mother's office. After searching your apartment, we discovered a second in the living room, by the light switch."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"It might have been nothing." Mustardseed soothed quickly.

"Or it may have been something, which is why we kept digging." Puck added. "Point is, we didn't want to give you false leads. You would have gone charging off, half-cocked, and gotten yourself killed."

"No, I wouldn't have!" Sabrina protested. The two fairies simultaneously raised their eyebrows. "Oh, shut up."

"Further investigation wasn't wasted."

"You know, you sorta sound like an FBI agent in a really crappy movie." Puck interrupted. "'Further investigation wasn't wasted.'" He mimicked in a high tone.

"Shut up." Mustardseed scowled. "Anyway," He turned back to Sabrina, "We found out a bit. Not enough to launch an attack, but something." He looked down at the paper in front of him. "They're underground-"

"-Obviously. Or else we would have already busted them." Puck interrupted.

"-And as Everafters, they had the resources to cloak themselves." Mustardseed continued. "Magic can be very tricky in the right hands, and they used it to cloak themselves. It was Jake who found them out. One of them got a little too confident, and spray painted the name of the organization, and the name of their leader across the wall in a subway tunnel."

"Wait, how do you know it was them? Actually, how did you find it?" Sabrina asked.

"Dude must have been either doped up or drunk. Or addicted to magic, like you." Puck shrugged. "Anyway, he put the bright red hand print on it, too. Kinda obvious."

"We've got a network that scans for stuff like this." Mustardseed added. "It might have be down there for a few days, maximum, before one of them finds it. Anything threatening or cult-like, is investigated, and then dealt with."

"So if they're so good, why hasn't this already been 'dealt with'."

"They're good." Mustardseed looked pained to admit it. "They snatched Veronica, Henry, Daphne and Basil out from under our noses, and all within the space of an hour. And your family was high security, followed by some of our best at all times."

"Anyway, back to the leader of this gang." Puck peered over Mustardseed's shoulder. "Great." He groaned.

"What?"

"Mirror. Of course it had to be a bloody, stinking magic mirror!" Puck kicked the desk, earning himself a sharp glare from his brother as he made a scuff against the warm mahogany.

"A magic mirror? Why's that so bad?" Sabrina was completely confused.

"Magic mirrors are dimensions in and of themselves. They have almost unlimited worlds, and definitely unlimited storage space. There could be a literal army hidden in one of these suckers, and you'd never know. It could just be a mirror hidden in someone's attic, it could be hanging on someone's wall, hell, it could even be in a pawn shop." Mustardseed sighed. "You have no idea what's in it, there could be more magic in one of them than in all the store rooms of Faerie. It's the perfect base, and the guardian makes a perfect leader."

"Some mirrors have a way to track them, some don't. They've been used in wars before, but never have they been at the very center." Puck slipped into his 'royal' voice.

"So now what?"

"Now?" Mustardseed sighed. "Now, we prepare for war."

"Because it's definitely coming." Puck grinned. "Finally! Years without anything, and now, we finally get to do something!"

Mustardseed turned to hit his brother upside the head.

~Sisters Grimm~

Hi! I'm back already. SATs are over, so hopefully I'll stop being too stressed to do anything but watch Doctor Who while I'm supposed to be doing math.

Seriously... Doctor Who. I just watched the season two finale. My brothers and sisters mocked me for crying, but what else was I supposed to do?

Thanksgiving(here in America. You do all know we pig out and try to push the dishes off on someone else this day, right?) is descending, and with it, Christmas. Or Hannuka. Or Kwanza. What else do we celebrate, anyway?

Anyway, I'm in a chatty mood, so let's get to those reviews!

GriffinGirl8655: Thank you! I'm always trying to make them perfectly in character, so I love hearing that someone noticed. Also, the Mortal Instruments and so on, I really, really hate them.

quillandspindle: Thanks! Mustardseed is a bit of my own character, now. I think I took some Sam Winchester, some Loki, a bit of Jason Grace, and a touch of Merlin to him. Where did I get the serious part of his character? Well, someone had to be the balanced one in the family.

Curlscat: Oh, hey. I already responded to your review. Whadda think of this episode?

Guest: Hi, Grace! You got some more, and in pretty much record time for me.

Anyway, since I still wanna talk:

If you are a guest, and leaving a review, please give yourself a name. I like everyone to know exactly who I'm talking to!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	10. Chapter 10

For all Mustardseed's grim predictions, Sabrina found that despite an impending war, her life didn't change much. Jake was absent much of the time, leaving tomes in her classroom with a scribbled note to summarize whatever chapter, and that he missed seeing her. Mr. Wiskers eased back on the trigonometry lessons, and encouraged her to get a better grasp on past participles. She still attended the weekly Faerie royalty dinners (Although Mustardseed refused to bend the dress code rules enough to let her wear jeans, at least she could get away with something that didn't look like a prom dress).

The only large difference was that Puck was more brutal in their daily weapons training, her time in the weapons room almost doubling on weekends as he started cramming as many different weapons into each lesson as he feasibly could.

"If you're ever in doubt, whack them on the head." The grinning fairy tossed her a baseball bat. "It doesn't work too hot on, say, a giant, 'cause you're smaller, but you can still give it a pretty good thwack on the big toe. Actually, that's more painful."

Archery, fencing, karate and a style Puck dubbed 'Street style' (And that involved hair pulling, dirt throwing and feinting) all blurred together as Puck pushed harder and harder, doubling timing push-ups alongside her and lecturing on battle strategies as he went up and down.

"Why do you even bother doing that?" Sabrina asked him in exasperation one afternoon as she pushed her sweaty hair out of her face.

"Doing what?" Puck asked, chewing an energy bar with his mouth open.

Sabrina wrinkled her nose in disgust, but otherwise ignored his lack of manners. "Train with me. You know everything."

Puck grinned. "Yeah, but I can do it so much better." She threw a wooden dagger at him.

It was true though. Mustardseed hadn't been lying when he told her that Puck was one of the greatest warriors the long history of Faerie contained. Even Oberon grudgingly acknowledged it when Sabrina, fed up with his insults towards his family, had mentioned how much better she was at weapons under his son.

"He seems to know everything about every weapon." Sabrina demurred, cutting her steak. Puck wasn't there, having found some excuse to escape the torment of spending time with his family. She was slightly put off that he hadn't given her a way out either.

"Well, yes." Oberon nodded. "He does have potential. He should. He's wasted his time studying everything and anything that has anything to do with warfare."

"He could be a warrior king." Moth chipped in, sipping her water. "Take over the world with what he knows." Her eyes glittered greedily.

Oberon snorted. "But will he? No. He's too busy blowing up my office." That had been Puck's latest rebellion, and Oberon had been forced to relocate to a slightly smaller room while magicians reconstructed the room and his paperwork.

Titiana glowered. "If you would just give him a little encouragement instead of cutting down everything he does!"

"Oh shut up, woman." Oberon glared back.

"Who are you to tell me to shut up!" And off they went, family night dissolving into war.

It seemed that only Mustardseed's life had changed dramatically. The Faerie prince had given up any claim to sleep as he hunted down allies and contacts, organized his spy network and filed more paperwork, trying desperately to find clues about the Scarlet Hand.

"Why don't you help him?" Sabrina hissed at Puck as the left his little brother's office, all but tossed out when a brownie came in, asking for a private audience.

"I do." Puck protested. "I'm organizing the army."

So the two seeming teenagers were in charge of a war. Sabrina didn't like to think how much her life had changed.

And still, life went on.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Do you know what I heard today?" Oberon asked.

It was family night. Again. Sabrina was picking listlessly at her salad, Mustardseed was taping away on his phone underneath the table, and Puck was trying to put as much distance between himself and his fiancee as possible.

"No, Father. What did you hear?" If Puck's tone was slightly mocking, well, Sabrina wasn't going to be the one calling him out on it.

"I heard that there's a war brewing." Oberon answered, tone neutral. "Of course, that couldn't be, could it?" He pinned his gaze on Sabrina. She froze. Beside her, Mustardseed stiffened, Puck mirroring the action. "And then, even more preposterous, I heard a certain family was at the center of it. A certain family," His voice rose, "named Grimm."

"Father,-"

"You will be silent." Oberon scowled at Mustardseed. His son instantly went quiet.

"Dad-"

"And you!" Oberon roared, swiveling to glare at Puck. "You were organizing the army, weren't you? You know what's coming. And you thought you could hide it? Are you as stupid as I thought?"

Puck scowled, opening his mouth to protest.

"No! You have no right to talk, you have no right to breathe. You are very, very lucky you aren't in the dungeon at this very minute."

"Oberon, this is quite enough." Titiana's voice rang out. "You will apologize. And you," She looked to her sons, "will stop any proceedings towards the war."

"It won't go away if you refuse to acknowledge it!" Puck shouted.

"Did I tell you to argue with me?" Titiana's gaze grew fierce, and her attention came to Sabrina. "As for you, miss Grimm, do not presume to start a war in a vain attempt to recover your parents. Faerie does not fight your battles."

Sabrina's mouth dropped open, the insults to the king and queen rolling across her mind. Puck lunged across the table, sliding among the bowls and platters to clap a hand across her mouth. "We're leaving." He pulled Sabrina roughly to her feet, yanking Mustardseed up by the collar as he strode towards the door, and out of the suffocating atmosphere of the room.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Well, this is all very promising." Mustardseed flopped on his bed, tugging off his tie.

"How dare she." Sabrina fumed, pacing across the floor as Puck zipped around over her head, muttering nonstop as he fiddled with something. Sabrina hoped it was another bomb to blow up Oberon's office. Or maybe his closet. Get rid of all those ugly suits.

"She's been queen for five thousand years." Mustardseed intoned, kicking off his shoes. "She's used to having her own way."

"So much for royal ettiquitte." Sabrina snorted.

Above her head, Puck was funneling something into a balloon. "If you haven't picked it up yet, Grimm, manners are only for those who aren't them."

"It was nice of your financee to step in and defend you."

"She's only in it for the future promise of power." Puck scowled.

"We know that. Harpy." Sabrina stared at Mustardseed. He had never insulted anyone before. "Well, she is." Mustardseed calmly justified, a hint of petulance creeping into his tone.

"Whiny tonight." Puck blinked, apparently as surprised as Sabrina to hear his brother.

"I have the right to be."

"You never let me have the right." Puck complained.

"You whine all the time." Mustardseed supplied absently. Sabrina laughed.

"I wouldn't worry, by the way." Puck stopped his tinkering to look down at her. "We just gotta be sneakier about the war now. We're not going to stop because some glorified hussy commanded it."

"Puck!" Mustardseed protested.

"What? They both are, you know that." Puck looked surprised.

"That doesn't mean you can say it!"

"I hate liars." Puck shrugged. "How about this?" He dropped down beside his brother on the bed, and held out his contraption to Sabrina. "I wanna put it in his office again."

"No. Put it in his closet. I don't like the blue suit." Sabrina frowned.

"I feel like I should be protesting." Mustardseed yawned. "But I really don't like it either."

"Sirs!" A frantic knocking sounded at the door.

"Oh, what now?" Puck groaned theatrically. Mustardseed elbowed him.

"Come in."

"Sirs!" A fairy fairly burst through the door, saluting hurriedly. "I have urgent news!" He panted.

"Then say it." Puck grimaced.

"The king-" The fairy swallowed. "The King is dead. My Lords."

~Sisters Grimm~

Hi. Yeah, pretty abrupt. Can I just say I don't regret it?

So I updated! Yay me! If y'all would review, I might actually feel like that's a bigger accomplishment, you know. So pip pip! Please, I want to know where you think this is going, if I'm presenting Puck and Sabrina fairly, if I'm pacing this too fast, and so on.

And for all of those worrying, yes there will be Puckabrina here shortly. I'm not stupd, I know what 90% of us read fanfiction for.

Anyway, Review Replies!

icognito: Why, thank you! I'm glad you like it!

GriffinGirl8655: Yeah, it amazes me how many people are enjoying his character. I mean, I felt like Mustardseed was under appreiciated in the series, nd then he was just kind of reduced to a love interest for Daphne by the fandom. But he's so interesting to me. I mean, he did act as king for years before Puck returned, he somehow kept the family together, and he was somehow still sane through all of it.

Yep, I watch Doctor Who. I'm only into the tenth Doctor (But, hey, it's the fourth season, so I'll get to Eleven soon!) right now. I think Rose was my favorite companion, but I think Martha is undervalued, and Donna has such a poor opinion of herself that it's tragic. But Nine was awesome. So alive and vibrant, he got the job done. He was amazing. Which ones were your favorites?

OakeX: You reviewed more than a single sentence. Believe me, I don't think you are the world's worst reviewer. I actually thought you stopped reading this, so it was really nice to find your review in my inbox. You are also possibly the most positive reviewer I've ever had in terms of plot.

Well, that's kinda all I have to say.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are in the states!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	11. Chapter 11

The funeral was a large affair, black satin draped everywhere for weeks, and crowds of officials coming forwards to add their condolences. It all felt surreal to Sabrina. The only funeral she had ever attended was for her mother's sister, whom she had never met.

Speeches were made, Mustardseed taking the podium to remind everyone of all the good work Oberon had done (it was a short list for a five thousand year long existence), while Puck promised to uphold his legacy.

Titiana remained quiet throughout all the ceremonies, the memorials, and the services. Moth attended her, dry eyed as she coaxed the queen into eating and sleeping.

An air of grief hung over the entire castle, gloom settling into even those who had opposed Oberon's reign. What would happen now? It was not as easy as it would seem to replace a king who had been in charge as long as most people could remember. Even if they had hated him, he ws all they had known. And now he was gone.

Even Jake, when he appeared out of his corners, seemed put down. "It's nothing , Peanut." He ruffled Sabrina's hair. "I was just relying on Oberon for a lot of military support, and now I don't know who's going to be in charge next."

"Oberon refused to support the war." Sabrina pointed out, flattening her doubts.

"If there's one thing that can be said for him, he was a quick-tempered man." Jake shrugged. "It wouldn't have taken much of an attack for him change his mind."

"Won't Puck be next?" Sabrina asked.

"Maybe. He doesn't seem too keen about it, and you know there are Everafters talking about killing the royal family while they're weak."

Sabrina frowned, thinking back to the last time she had been in the Golden Egg. No one had seemed exactly violent, but then again, she hadn't exactly ever been in a revolutionary time of a magical kingdom before. "But why? They haven't really done anything."

Jake sighed, and settled down further into his chair. "In all your history books, have you ever found a time when people reacted calmly to the assassination of a leader, whether or not they were good at their job?"

She shook her head.

"Exactly. And Oberon had never really looked out for the interests of the commoners before."

"But Puck's different!" Sabrina protested. "He hated his dad."

"But who else knows that?" Jake leaned forwards, clasping his hands together. "All they can see is years of tyranny. And now someone is looking to upset an entire system, laid down before most of the people can remember. Fear is starting, and fear breeds war." He searched her face. "And that may or may not work out for us."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina hadn't seen either of the princes in a week. She knew Mustardseed was barricaded in his office, swamped with paperwork and downing coffee and Red Bull like water. He was easy to predict. But Puck? Puck could be anywhere.

She finally found him a week and a half after the extravagant funeral. He was in one of the weapons rooms, staring at the wall.

"Puck?" It was unnerving to see him like this. He was always moving, forever working on something, excess energy in constant need of burning off. But now he was sitting completely still, his wings out of sight, his hands still in his hoodie pocket, slumped in on himself. He didn't even turn to acknowledge her, didn't blink. Just stared at the blank wall, his posture completely loose. Not relaxed, but defeated. Sabrina was suddenly afraid.

"Puck?" She tried again, hesitantly going to stand beside him.

"You know..." The fairy still didn't look at her, "I hated him. I did." He breathed out roughly, the air catching in his throat. "I didn't like my dad. I despised him. He was rude, and selfish, and he didn't like anyone." He paused. "I told him so. I told him I hated him. I told him that a lot."

Sabrina reached up, putting her hand on his shoulder. The prince quivered beneath her fingers, emotion welling out of him the only way it could.

"He said it to me too, though. He told me I was a disappointment, that I would never measure up, the world would fall if I ever became King. I told him to shut up." Puck swallowed thickly. "He can't say it anymore. It's what I wanted, isn't it?"

"No." Sabrina shook her head. "It's not."

Puck finally turned to face her. "But what if it is?" He asked desperately. "What if this is exactly what I always wanted?" He sobbed. "What if this is what I've been asking for? What if-" He broke off, curling in on himself, tucking his head into his arms, shaking.

Sabrina hesitated, then sat down beside him. "Hey..." She stopped, tears beginning to well in her own eyes. "Hey, it's okay."

"'Is not." Puck sniffed wetly. "'Is not okay."

Sabrina nodded. There wasn't anything she could say to that. "You're right. It sucks." She choked, desperately missing her own parents. "It really, really sucks."

~Sisters Grimm~

They stayed tucked away for hours, Sabrina sitting beside Puck on the hard bench as he finally mourned the loss of his father. They didn't talk. There was nothing to say.

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina resumed her lessons, trying to ignore the talks of revolt as she memorized French nouns. Mustardseed emerged once, doing his best impersonation of death warmed over as he stumbled into the dining room for family night.

Family night was in shambles. Titiana was nowhere to be found, Mustardseed was filing paperwork on phone, Puck was quiet. Only Moth remained the same, simpering after her fiance as she cut her chicken.

Puck was listlessly poking at his potatoes across from Sabrina when Moth finally asked the question everyone had been waiting for.

"When's the coronation to be, my love?" She smiled at Puck, her teeth glittering under the chandelier light.

Mustardseed's head jerked up. "What?"

"The coronation." Moth repeated slowly. "Faerie must have a king, now more than ever. Puck is here now. We must continue onwards, and show the people that we have not fallen, that we are as strong as ever. They cannot relax and think they are in charge of themselves now that Oberon has so unfortunately passed away."

Sabrina gaped at the fairy.

"And what better time to have the wedding then at your greatest moment?" Moth continued. "It would be perfect."

Puck looked repulsed. "What?"

"A coronation and a wedding, and at the same time!" Moth crowed. "Rather like the English used to do, but with more elegance."

"Do you think that's even remotely a good idea?" Sabrina asked incredulously. "Seriously?"

"You do not get any opinion." Moth whirled on her. "You are only a human, and no human should even be with the Everafter realms. Look at the chaos your parents caused! Who knows what you might ruin with your blundering ways? Already you have killed the king."

"Excuse me?" Sabrina snarled, pushing her chair back and standing. Mustardseed was twitching nervously beside her, but she ignored him.

"You heard me, human. Do you really think it is a coincidence that Oberon was assassinated so soon after your arrival and your parents' disappearance? Are you really so stupid as to think that you had nothing to do with this?" Moth remained composedly seated. "You and your family have caused Faerie grief, and I look forward to the day of your death. Humans do not last long, and their consequences do not long outlive them. You will be forgotten in a hundred years, and so will all you have done."

Sabrina reeled.

"Enough." Puck stood, towering over the table. "Moth, you will leave. As heir apparent, I dissolve our engagement. Now go."

"My lord-"

"Leave!" Puck roared, and the grieving boy vanished. He was every inch the warrior Mustardseed had promised Sabrina months ago. And he was furious. "Sabrina Grimm is an honored guest among us. Even my father recognized that. You have insulted both her and her family, demonstrating your clear ineptitude to ever reign as queen." Puck swallowed. "I am the heir to Faerie. And therefore, I am your king."

Musardseed blinked. "So you're finally going to take over?"

Puck nodded.

"Finally. Now maybe I can sleep." And with that, Mustardseed passed out onto his plate.

~Sisters Grimm~

Hey, y'all. Whoops. I just kept editing and re-editing this chapter. It was actually written about a month ago, but I hated it. I still don't really like it.

What do you think is going to happen now that Puck's in charge? According to my outline, he actually wasn't supposed to reach it for... Two more chapters. But hey, rules are meant to be broken, right?

Anyway, here are your review replies!

OakeX: Your enthusiasm for Mustardseed never gets old. I really love him, 'cause I got to do whatever I wanted with him. Unfortunately, he's gonna be really busy in the next few chapters, so he's not going to be making a lot of appearances. Poor guy's exhausted.

GriffinGirl8655: Well, I got to the eleventh Doctor. Wowza. I cannot believe that there are actually people who don't like him. He's like a caged tornado, and he's really scary, and I love it. He's very dark, especially compared to Ten.

CRAZILITIOUS: What if Moth didn't kill Oberon though? This is an AU. Maybe I changed it. But then again, maybe I didn't.

guest: I know, right Merlin was such an amzing show. How dare they end it the way they did? I really would have ended it very differently. Actually, I wouldn't have ended it. Who am I kidding?

Curlscat: I think I PMed you your reply. But yeah, I am horrified by my college fic. How on earth did that even make it into elligoat's nominations, much less win the best ever story? I am so ashamed.

fanfiction 1 fangirl: hey, I updated! I swear, I'm not going to abandon this one. December was just a really busy month for me. My sister came home from college, I've been taking more hours at work, robotics is starting back up, and I have been applying to colleges. But I absolutely love this fic. It inspires me so much, and I never stop thinking about it, and where the characters are going next.

Anyway, lame author blabbing time!

I have been really busy, and it doesn't look lie it's going to let up until April. Sorry. It's probably worse for me than you, but I underrstand you want your updates. Please be patient? I'm starting the next chapter tonight, and I'm going to try to start writing a little bit every day, try to make updates at least every other week.

How was your Christmas? Mine was pretty cool. I spent it at home, drinking coffee and laughing at my idiot siblings.

Reviews are very much appreciated!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	12. Chapter 12

"Is he going to be okay?" Sabrina prodded Mustardseed's shoulder.

"Probably." Puck shrugged. "Just make sure he doesn't inhale any potatoes." He sat back down. Moth crept past him, but he ignored her as she slipped out the door. Sabrina thought she caught a glimmer of tears on the fairy's face, and felt an unexpected pang of sympathy.

"Did you mean it?" Sabrina asked.

Puck shrugged. "I guess so. Who else is gonna do it?"

"I meant about Moth." She explained, edging Mustardseed's plate out from under his head. Potatoes clung to his hair, but he snored on, oblivious. Sabrina wondered how much sleep he had been getting while everyone else brooded. Obviously not a lot.

"I've been complaining about her since the day we met." Puck tucked into his food, with visibly more enthusiasm. "What makes you think I'd be making it up?" He asked, his mouth full.

Sabrina recoiled. "I don't know. It just seemed like a snap decision." She paused, and grimaced. "Could you chew with your mouth closed? It's disgusting."

"Duh." Puck shoveled more chicken into his mouth, making sure to chew with his mouth open.

"Are you actually going to do it?" Sabrina asked. It would be great if Puck did decide take over, it would definitely solve a lot of Jake's problems, but if he didn't really want to, well...

"I already said I would." Puck reached for his water. "How hard can it be?" He asked, before chugging the entire glass in one go.

~Sisters Grimm~

As it turned out, it was plenty hard to run a kingdom.

"I hate my life." Puck moaned to Mustardseed from his position face down on his brother's bed.

Mustardseed laughed. Puck had more or less trudged into his room, made a bee-line for the four poster and crashed, his sneakers still on his feet.

"It's not what you thought it would be?" The prince teased. He was surrounded by paperwork, mounds of reports piled up on his desk and several sheets of paper on the floor.

"No!" Puck sat up and turned to face him. "I thought all I had to do was order people to do stuff, and the idiots would make it happen. But no!" He threw a pillow across the room. It hit the wall with a decidedly unsatisfying whump, and slid to the floor. "Instead we have to do a stupid coronation party!"

It had been deemed necessary by Sabrina that they hold at least a small ceremony to make it official that Puck was taking over. Mustardseed, after he woke up from his nap (he was throughly confused to see the potatoes in his hair) had agreed. Which Puck could have brushed off. But no, they had to ask Titiana what she thought. And Titiana had completely agreed that a ceremony was necessary. Unfortunately, she hadn't agreed that it should be small.

"Tired of looking at color schemes?" Mustardseed asked sympathetically.

Puck grimaced. "Purple is purple! Why do we have to name every shade?" He flopped back down on the bed, but this time on his back. "It's all Grimm's fault. It was her stupid idea."

"Oh, shush." Mustardseed flipped the page, frowning. The head guard usually gave incredibly detailed reports. Why was this one so short? "You like Sabrina."

Puck spluttered, but didn't sit up again. "I do not." He protested. "She's girly."

"So you say." Mustardseed turned back to the front of the report. Ah. It was the inspection summary, not the actual report. That explained a lot. "But you don't complain about it too often."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Puck asked. Grimm was too girly. She still smelled good, and she still laughed too much. Plus, her hair was still curly. Wasn't there some sort of thing that was supposed to fix that?

"Nothing." Mustardseed put the report aside and grinned at his brother. "Absolutely nothing."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina, meanwhile, had more or less thrown herself into the party planning. Titiana was more than glad for the help.

"I can't imagine where Moth has got to." She said one afternoon as she and Sabrina looked over dessert options.

This wasn't to say she liked Sabrina. Neither one of them liked the other. Sabrina was still stinging from her insults to her family, and Titiana was convinced that humans were a class below Everafters.

But Titiana was looking for a distraction from her grief, and Mustardseed was overly conscientious of the budget.

"We're gearing up to fight a war." He had explained to Sabrina. "We can't afford to waste our resources. So make sure to reign Mother in, would you?"

Sabrina had agreed. It wasn't like she had much else to do. Her tutors were busy working night and day to find the Scarlet Hand, and their homework assignments were brief, when they remembered they had a student who needed to graduate at some point in the next two years. Sabrina didn't mind. She would rather they found her family than spend time going over her French nouns.

And so she and the Queen of Faerie were planning a party together as magicians worked to decorate the Great Hall.

"No, I think that would be too heavy." Sabrina shook her head to the cheesecake. "Maybe something with fruit."

Titiana hummed. "Maybe. It would embrace our culture, wouldn't it?" She flipped through her tablet, pulling up a new list. "Something with berries?"

"Berries are out of season." Sabrina disagreed. "Oranges are in, and they can be made really heavy or light. Plus, it goes with the theme of a rising sun. I mean, they are orange."

"I'm still not certain about that theme." Titiana looked up. "It sounds as if we should not be grieving my husband's passing, but celebrate the end of his reign."

Sabrina bit back the urge to reply that Oberon had hardly been an upstanding leader, and anyway, hadn't Titiana had more than her fair share of fights with the gu before he passed? "No, it sounds like hope in a new age." She argued. "Like healing and re-energizing. Besides, we already bought the draperies. We can't return a custom job, especially one by the fairy godmothers. They'll get insulted and won't help with the Midsummer's party."

"I suppose not." Titiana sighed, as if though the theme would ruin everything if it wasn't perfect. Actually, it might, Sabrina mused. It wasn't like she would know.

"How are the clothes coming along?" She said instead.

"The ceremonial dressings." Titiana corrected. "They are doing quite nicely. You need to make an appointment with the seamstress for your fitting and to discuss designs, however. don't put it off."

Sabrina choked. "What? Why on Earth would I need a fitting?" Or a dress, anyway? She still had the blue one Mustardseed had found her all those months ago.

"You are to be part of the royal procession." Titiana explained. "You have taken up too much of the King's time to simply bow out, Miss Grimm." She pinned Sabrina with a steely gaze. "You cannot come as simply a guest. People will talk about it if you do. If, however, you are seen in the company of one royal or another through-out the evening, you may escape most rumors, and save your reputation."

"Rumors?" Sabrina squeaked.

"What do you think people will assume?" Titiana asked. "You spend too much time with my sons to be anything but a pet or a servant. You are neither, and it will be made plain."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina wasn't happy, but she went along with the Queen's plans. She was probably right. Sabrina bristled at the idea that she was a pet, or a servant. She wasn't sure what either Puck or Mustardseed thought of her, but it definitely wasn't that. So she asked.

"A friend and advisor. And currently, a great help." Mustardseed answered. Sabrina was looking through old reports, trying to find out when the Scarlet Hand had started. "And I think Mother is right. It needs to be established. After all, an upcoming war is something we need to make people aware of. and soon."

She had asked Puck in the middle of weapons training. He had choked on his tongue. "You're Grimm." He finally said, once he had regained his voice. "You're a pain in the butt and you're sloppy with a cutlass."

Sabrina took it to be about the same answer as Mustardseed had given her.

~Sisters Grimm~

After weeks of planning, it was finally time for the coronation. Sabrina was to the point that she agreed with Puck and was willing to simply push him onto the throne and drop the crown on his head. Wouldn't that be close enough?

But no, she had opened her big mouth, and now she was in a stupid dress that brushed the ground. Who came up with this design? It was impractical.

Still, it was beautiful. She had outright refused the seamstress's proposal of a fluffy, full skirt, instead pointing to the picture of a simple dress with a beaded bodice. It was fancy enough to satisfy Titiana, and simple enough that she didn't feel like a kid dressing up in her mom's clothes. Until the diamonds had been added.

Puck claimed to have found the jewelry in one of the trunks in the treasury. Sabrina thought he was a bald-faced liar. They were too close to the ones in the magazine she had been flipping through last week to be a coincidence.

Mustardseed shrugged when she asked him. "I don't know. It's not as if I look through jewelry catalogues. I would just take them as a thank you for keeping Mother away from him."

So Sabrina punched Puck's shoulder. "Thanks, jerkface." And definitely ignored the butterflies in her stomach. Mustardseed was right. They were just a thank you. And she did deserve them for dressing up like this.

It wasn't like Sabrina had an aversion to dressing up. She just didn't like dressing up and standing in front of a bunch of people. It was different.

So here she was, standing with Mustardseed and Titiana as they waited to go into the ballroom.

Mustardseed was working on his ipad as he lectured Sabrina on how to behave. "Smile. Don't insult anyone, especially not the ones dripping in jewels or talking to one of us. They're probably important." He looked up from his chart when Sabrina giggled nervously. "Don't worry about it." He shrugged as Titiana played with her necklace. "Smile. They liked your parents' work, they'll love you."

"Who's going to love who?" Puck asked, coming into the room. "And I hate this." He tugged at his suit. It was black, the only orange on it his tie and cuff links. Sabrina definitely didn't find it attractive. "Why couldn't I have gone in my hoodie?"

"Because i had to wear a dress." Sabrina frowned. "At least you get pants."

Puck looked at her, and did a double-take. "Hey, you're not as ugly as usual!" He crowed.

"Gee, thanks."

"He means you are lovely. Humans do clean up nicely." Titiana complimented. "And the orange suits you."

"That's what I said." Puck protested. "Isn't it?"

"No." Mustardseed shook his head. "You need to look over your communication lessons again."

"Bleh." Puck grimaced. "Can we go? The sooner this is over, the better."

"Give it, like, two minutes." Sabrina grabbed Mustardseed's arm to look at his watch. "You know there are going to be stragglers."

"Too bad for them." Puck glanced at Mustardseed. "Hey, why'd you get the yellow tie? I hate this one. It's itchy."

"You're babbling." Mustardseed informed him absently, tapping on the ipad. He finished. "Okay, let's go. No smiling, no proclaiming yourself king of the world until the ceremony is over, got it?"

Puck rolled his eyes, nodded and grinned. "Let's do this."

~Sisters Grimm~

Hey, y'all! I actually updated on time.

If you want to see Sabrina's dress, I did actually take the time to look up a reference. I was happy with the results, and I hope you are, too. Here's the link: . ?spm=2114.10010108.100005.41.r9Xw2u

I hope that link works. I've never tried to do one on Fanfiction before, so I dunno if they'll let that be, or if they'll blank it out. Just copy and paste that into your search bar and replace an actual period.

So this story has been nominated for elligoat's Best Sisters Grimm of 2015 contest! Yay! If you think this story deserves to be in the finalists, please vote for it! Even if you don't think it does, vote for someone else's!

How's the new year been for you all so far?

Review Replies!

katastrophea: Plot twists aren't here yet, but they're coming. Mostly 'cause i hate predictability. I'm glad you liked the last chapter!

Guest: I was wondering how many people would pick up that particular nugget. I just started watching Once Upon A Time, and I really wanted Puck to discover it. I mean, can you see his face? It would be awesome!

TangledDreamcatcher: I'm glad you love this story! I always like hearing that people enjoy my work.

Curlscat: I love Mustardseed. I love that he's canon, but not so much that I can't create a new character and personality for him. I really like that he can be the responsible, reasonable one to Puck's craziness. Thanks! I was actually surprised to see that I had been nominated for her contest. I wasn't last year, and this story isn't really popular. Like, at all. Which kind of depresses me, because I fell like it's so much better than my college one. Which people loved.

Anyway, it's about supper time where I live, so I will leave you to your reviewing! (you are going to review, right?)

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	13. Chapter 13

The ceremony went by in a blur of "Do you solemnly swear"By the laws of Faerie"s. Sabrina was both enchanted and distracted, the words of the official (a faerie in a pinstriped suit and thinning hair) washed over the room. In a way, she felt that the whole thing was pompous and overdone, because really? How long did it take to say, "Yeah, I take the kingship, blah blah blah... Okay, the crown is mine."? But strangely, it was also perfect, the elaborate words an obvious but gentle salute to Faerie's history and Oberon's demise.

Beside her, Mustardseed was standing perfectly straight, his hands clasped in front of him, his eyes focused on the scene unfolding before him. It was very likely that almost no one in the room had ever seen a king of Faerie crowned. After all, Oberon had ascended over six thousand years ago. Sabrina returned her attention to the ceremony, just as Puck was handed a crystal globe, filled with... Was that dirt? Sabrina squinted, and leaned forwards.

"I now give to you Faerie's home," The official carefully laid the globe in Puck's outstretched hand, "and the rod of the elm." A twisted wooden scepter followed. It seemed to shimmer, and reminded Sabrina of Galndaff's staff in the Lord of the Rings movies, right up to the emerald imbedded and protectively entwined by the branch at the very top. "These represent the power and origin of Faerie. Do you solemnly swear to return Faerie to her rightful place? To do your utmost to send her back to the forest from whence she came?"

Sabrina blinked. Who wrote this, anyway?

"I do." Puck's voice, oddly deep and sincere, rang out across the room.

"And do you swear to give to Faerie all that you can?"

"I do."

"And do you take this crown, these vows, this land, by your own free will?"

"I do."

"Then by the power of the forest, the wonder of the river, and the majesty of the sun, I crown you king." The faerie reached up to place the crown, a simple affair of woven gold twigs and emeralds, on Puck's head. "May Faerie flourish under your rule, now and forever."

"Long live the king." Titiana proclaimed, her face serene as she placed the responsibility of a dying race onto her son. "May Faerie flourish under his rule."

"Long live his majesty, King Puck." Mustardseed intoned. "May Faerie be returned to the meadows under his reign."

"Long live the king!" The room chorused. Sabrina shouted with them, even as Puck stood impassive, watching over his new kingdom.

~Sister Grimm~

A party styled after Faerie's history, but modernly tasteful, was hard to pull off. Sabrina felt rather smug that she had been the one to find the balancing ground on so many of Titiana's elaborate schemes, pulling together table settings and dances so that they blended together seamlessly in a "Suitable mix of tradition and new age, I suppose." (Those were Titiana's words.)

Now, couples spun around on the dance floor, reliving a early nineteenth century waltz ("It was the best age for dancing." Titiana had proclaimed. "Everyone adored it."), some dressed in the old style of Faerie, with gossamer dresses, others dressed to the very height of modern style.

"And are you enjoying yourself?" Mustardseed sat down beside Sabrina, offering her a plate of orange macaroons. She took one, picking it apart and ignoring the crumbs scattering themselves across her skirt.

"It's beautiful." She nodded. "I can't believe it actually came together. I was certain something was going to be just too loud, or something, but I guess not."

Mustardseed shrugged, shoving half a cookie in his mouth in one go. At Sabrina's incredulous laugh, he mumbled, "What? I've been fielding calls all day. I forgot to eat." He swallowed, and took a more measured bite. "Anyway, nice job with the color scheme. Where'd you get the idea of a rising sun, anyway?"

"You must be tired. You're using contractions." Sabrina laughed. "And would you believe I got the idea from Tangled?"

"You did what?" Puck asked from behind her. Sabrina twisted in her seat, and waved.

"Come on. Get over here. I'm going to put out my back looking over my shoulder like this." Sabrina demanded. He obliged, plopping down in the seat beside his brother and snatching a cookie from the plate in Mustardseed's hand.

"You planned my coronation party around a Disney movie?" Puck asked, his mouth full. He had long ago ditched the fur cape, left the scepter and globe on the throne, and now he was scratching at the crown. Sabrina wondered how much longer it had to sit on his head before he dropped it in a bowl of oranges or something.

"Yep. Didn't it turn out nice?" Sabrina surveyed the room again proudly, some symphony by some famous and long dead composer wafting over the crowd as they danced.

"It could be worse." Puck shrugged, reaching for another macaroon. Mustardseed slapped his hand away.

"Get your own, oh king." He grumbled, shoving another one in his mouth.

"But I want your's. It's too far to get my own." Puck whined.

"Wah." Mustardseed mocked him. "Mine."

"You're grouchy tonight. Grimm, is he grouchy tonight?"

"Yeah, he is." Sabrina grinned. "Maybe we should leave him alone. Let him eat cookies all by himself."

"Yes, do that." Mustardseed nodded. "Go dance, or terrorize the dessert table or something. Just leave my cookies out of it."

"Whatever. C'mon Grimm." Puck bounced to his feet and hauled Sabrina upright. "Let's show these peasants how to do the cha-cha."

"Okay, so first off, I know very well that everyone here is really, really rich, and it was the main reason for inviting them. Secondly, who says I want to dance?"

Puck snorted. "Please, Grimm. You've been watching over-dressed hussies flouncing around all evening. You can't tell me you don't want to." He was right. Sabrina had been watching couples swirling by for hours now. She had danced with Mustardseed once, though. Then the prince had begged off on exhaustion and hunger. Sabrina thought he might just want to stop being a prince for a few minutes, and sit back to eat cake while someone else did the work for once.

"The cha-cha?" She asked instead of protesting. She wasn't going to turn down a dance, but was the cha-cha really the right move? It was so... Untraditional. But, she thought with a snort, Faerie would have to get used to new things if Puck was king.

"Yeah, that weird dance where you stomp and clap." Puck nodded enthusiastically. "I don't wanna waltz with more stuffy diplomats. They make me want to sleep, and I don't think it would be proper to fall asleep at my own coronation party, do you?" He asked, eyes glinting with amusement. "I mean, it would take me out of a world of pain-"

"Ugh. Shut up already." Sabrina reached out and grasped his wrist, tugging him towards the orchestra. "I get it. You're bored." She tossed a smile over her shoulder at him. "So let's shake things up."

"Finally!" Puck crowed.

~Sisters Grimm~

It turned out that slightly tipsy diplomats and aristocrats were not at all adverse to going crazy on the dance floor. Although Titiana looked completely horrified while Sabrina taught them to do the chicken dance (it was incredibly popular. They did that one several times, high heels ditched in favor of twirling around clucking at the partners.), everyone else was insanely eager to escape some of the formality of the day.

"Alright, everybody!" Puck clapped his hands, drawing the room's attention to himself as the last strains of the macarena died away. He was still wearing the crown, although it was resting lopsided over one ear. His face was flushed, and Sabrina wondered if he had been into the happy juice alongside his subjects. "Sabrina says we should do the cha-cha!"

"I did not." Sabrina elbowed him in the side, grinning. Her hair had fallen out of the elaborate twist that a stylist had inflicted on her before the ceremony, and she blew the sweaty strands out of her face.

Puck grinned down at her, ignoring the sudden swoop in his stomach as she tugged off her heels and kicked them away. Had she always been this pretty? "You forgot, then. Don't worry, I didn't." She rolled her eyes, and turned instead to the orchestra.

"You heard his majesty."

The crowd whooped as the opening bars began to play, completely ignoring the singer's prompts, instead stomping and swaying to the rhythm.

"C'mon, Grimm!" Puck nudged Sabrina. He grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him as he clumsily made his way through the first set.

In the corner where he had insisted on being left alone in, Mustardseed checked his email one more time. After this, he swore, he was going to go join everyone else.

There was only one new email, this from his border patrol. Good. It was probably just their nightly confirmation that noting had happened all day again. He opened it, eyes already scanning hurriedly through the opening lines. "Unfortunately, tonight, we did find evil."

Wait, what? Mustardseed skipped back to the first line, re-reading the email carefully.

 _"As your highness knows, all the patrols previously conducted have been without incident, and with little evidence of the war we feel to be advancing. It appears our grace period is coming to its end. Unfortunately, tonight, we did find evil._

 _Moth, the handmaid of Titiana and former fiancee of King Puck has been found dead near the East River. Although we await the opinion of a doctor, it is my personal belief that she was run through with sword by way of the stomach. Whatever committed this heinous act had no intention of mercy, nor did they remain to see the effect of the damage. The body was emblazoned with a single red handprint, apparently painted on with the blood from the wound._

 _Our sympathies are extended to you and your family. We await further orders._

 _Long live his majesty, King Puck."_

Well, shit.

~Sisters Grimm~

"What?" Puck asked blankly. It was the morning after the party, the glory of the night before fading away in the light of the Moth's death.

Mustardseed had kept his knowledge to himself for the night, allowing Puck and Sabrina to continue spinning themselves dizzy on the dance floor. His brain, numb with the new information it had just been provided with, had decided that he should leave them to be happy for a little longer. The more exhausted portion had giggled its agreement that Puck would need all the help he could get if he ever wanted to be more than friends with Sabrina.

Mustardseed shook his head at this idea. Puck had never even remotely hinted that he might like Sabrina, and Sabrina had only blushed when she was given those extravagant earrings (which Puck had picked out for her. He might deny it to his dying day, but Mustardseed had seen the jewelry ads and the boxes. He wasn't dense.). When had he stopped being a prince and turned into a gossiping old lady, anyway?

"Moth's dead?" Sabrina asked incredulously. She was holding a cup of coffee, forgotten, in one hand, as she stared at Mustardseed. She had bags under her eyes, and her giant hoodie only gave emphasis to her exhaustion. And her youth. Mustardseed had forgotten how young she was. She shouldn't need to be worrying about a war, she should be reliving last night, or preparing for her future. But that too would be short. Humans were so fleeting.

Mustardseed suddenly felt all his three thousand years as she blinked at him. By all rights, he should have been gone, long ago. He shouldn't be facing this war either.

"Yes." He nodded. "The report came in last night. She was found by the East river, a red handprint on her dress." He paused, and swallowed. "The guards believe that the sign was made with her own blood."

"And you didn't say something?" Puck asked. All his finery of the night before was gone. Mustardseed found himself facing the older brother he had always known, dressed as informally as any teenager on the street, but who knew more than any man living. He remembered that Puck was older than him, knew more.

"I didn't want to." Mustardseed told the truth.

"Why?" Puck demanded. "I'm king! I should know about these things as soon as you do! You had no right to keep this to yourself."

Sabrina was staring between them, eyes wide. They had never fought in front of her before. They had never fought. Not about anything. Not before the war loomed over them.

"I know. That's why I did it." Mustardseed squared his shoulders, refused to let his exhaustion show. He was just so tired. Why was it so hard? "You'll be king tomorrow, and the day after that, and the century after this one. Until you die." He didn't flinch. They both knew this. They had known it since they could understand who their father was.

"So?"

"So it could wait. It is here now. You deserved one night of Faerie's glory before you took her misery on as well."

"So did you!" Puck scowled. "You were supposed to be out there being ridiculous for once!"

"We can't afford that." Mustardseed shook his head. "There is a war hovering right over our heads, and-"

"And if it was so important you should have told me." Puck glowered. "If it couldn't have waited twelve hours for you, it shouldn't have waited for me, either."

"He's right." Sabrina spoke up cautiously. "You should have said something. We don't want you working yourself to the grave, you know."

"Speak for yourself." Puck huffed. "If you ever do anything that stupid again, I will have you tranquilized and locked in your bedroom. Without any work."

Sabrina seemed to remember her coffee, and took a sip. "Are you okay?" She asked, peering over the brim of her mug.

"No. No one is when they're planning a war." Mustardseed replied.

"Coulda told you that." Puck frowned. He sent a glare to Mustardseed, promising that this argument wasn't over. "I think we're all in danger now."

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. I mean, a threat spray painted on a subway wall is one thing. A murdered member of the royal circle? That's a lot more definite."

"Puck means that you're in danger." Mustardseed explained. "Bringing you to the coronation only made it more apparent that you're important. The rest of us can defend ourselves without training, but you've only just started working on self-defense. Moth wasn't very gifted with weapons, and now she's dead. If anyone's next, it's you."

Sabrina blinked at him. "But I'm safe, aren't I? I'm kinda in the middle of Faerie."

"So was Oberon." Puck pointed out, his face set. "I think you shouldn't go anywhere."

Mustardseed nodded. "Your room is as warded and magically guarded as possible, as is your classroom, and the training room. If you want to leave Faerie, you should take an escort."

"He means one of us is going with you." Puck broke in. He liked Sabrina. She was amusing and she didn't bow and scrape like everyone else. He wasn't about to let someone else be in charge of her safety.

"Excuse me?" Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to do what now?"

"Calm down." Mustardseed placated. "We're not questioning your ability to take care of yourself under normal circumstances, or even harder ones than you're used to. But you have to admit, these are above and beyond the dangers most people face. A guard is your best chance at safety."

Sabrina nodded. "Fine." She didn't want someone shadowing her every second of the day, but they were right. Oberon had died, and right under their noses within the space of an hour. If the king of Faerie was so easily assassinated, it would be nothing to murder her. A crawling sweat worked its way down her spine.

Puck grinned. "Great. Let's get started on war plans, then."

Sabrina didn't say anything as the two fairies began to discuss defense plans. Mechanically, she sipped from her mug. If what they said was right, she wouldn't be safe again until after the war ended and she had her family back. And even then, what would happen? She couldn't just throw this new life away as if it had never happened. She couldn't go back to college planning and worrying about dances. Nothing would ever be the same.

Was it a bad thing, though?

Of course it was, she automatically answered. Her nice, normal life was over, thrown away with her parents' lies and an underground kingdom. Faerie shouldn't even exist, much less be capable of having a war with other fairy tale creatures. She was running the risk of being assassinated, her grades were falling, and she was cut off from her friends.

But... She had learned of an entire culture hidden under New York. She knew how to do basic fencing, she could land a solid right hook. She had planned a king's coronation, danced with the same king, and she had taught a drunk princess to do the hokey pokey. Her parents had been working to end oppression, and she was friends with a literal fairy tale prince.

She watched as Mustardseed glared at Puck, who was laughing over something he had just said.

No, it wasn't all bad, she decided.

"Hey, you think we should get Jake for this?" She asked, wandering over to the desk.

Mustardseed and Puck exchanged glances. "You know, that's actually a good idea for once, Grimm." Puck reached out to ruffle her hair. She ducked his hand and stuck her tongue out as he sulked.

"I'll get him." Mustardseed nodded, pulling his ipad towards him to send an email to the magician. "We're going to need a lot of help to pull this off without alerting Mother."

"Good luck. Your mom is really observant when she thinks something she wouldn't approve of is going on."

Puck winced. "Tell me about it."

~Sisters Grimm~

Hey, so the link to look at Sabrina's dress won't upload no matter what I try, so here is a very informal (read: messy) description: It's a smooth, summer orange, not traffic cone or neon. The skirt just hits the ground, with a gauzy layer over top of the skirt. The top is beaded in swirly designs, and is a much lighter shade of orange, but the neckline is about an inch below her collar bone. The back of the top isn't beaded, and is transparent, without being see-through. The dress is also sleeveless. Um, you might be able to find it on , it's a tank sheer long prom dress, orange beaded lace sequin.

I had a lot of fun imagining her in this dress, dancing with Puck. I might have been grinning like a maniac when I wrote that scene.

In my defense, I wrote this chapter after a supremely long day at work. Actually, I wrote half of it this week and half of it last week.

I did fully intend to update last weekend, but, as it happens, my weekends are not uniform, and of course something happened. Mainly, I realized I had an Orthodontist appointment on Wednesday, and had to put in extra schoolwork.

On the upside, my braces are finally off. I swear my teeth used to be smaller, and now they look huge. Oh well. It's better than they were.

How'd you guys like Mustardseed in this chapter? I took some of his character traits for this from OakeX's The Burden of Leadership (Of Tradition). If you have not read this fanfic, for the love of Mustardseed, do it. It was amazing. OakeX has kindly given me permission to use some of the character traits he wrote for Mustardseed, and I want to give credit to him for helping me develop Mustardseed further.

Anyway, review replies!

Catlover360: Unfortunately, I couldn't get the link to even show up in it's entirety on the site. So I tried to describe the dress in the author's note (above) instead. I'm glad you liked the chapter!

LavendarMoonRose: I can't tell you how happy I was to read your reviews. They were very nice, and I'm glad you liked the story so much. I try to come up with original storylines (well, as original as they can be, since this is fanfiction), in the hopes that people are looking for something different. As to me ever writing a book, well, we'll see. I'd like to, but I don't know if anyone would actually pay to read it. The author of the Lunar Chronicles did have a fanfiction account, though! So there's hope.

Curlscat: Dang. I really hoped people could see that dress. I really liked it, and I don't even like the color orange. I wasn't really sure if I should put that section with Titiana and Sabrina in. I guess I should have worked harder on it, but I really wanted to show them working together without ripping each other's heads off. I might do let them do that later, though. Dunno yet.

OakeX: Thanks for your review! I really liked the idea of Mustardseed falling asleep in the middle of supper, but I get how it would be confusing without the chapter before it. I always feel like I'm being a touch too dramatic in all my stories. but I can't stop for some reason. I like really strong emotions, and I like to make my characters feel them as passionately as I do.

Anyway, that's everything. If you like it, drop a review!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"But if we strengthen the defenses on the Golden Egg, any one who works for the Hand will know that something's up." Puck argued heatedly. It was three days after his coronation, and so far everyone was too busy fighting to actually do anything. Jake wanted to increase security on the entrance into Faerie, but Mustardseed thought it would be better served if put over the records and archives of Faerie. Puck wanted to defend the entire castle, putting a guard at every door.

That wasn't the problem. The real root of the on-going argument was about magical warding. A castle, even one made of magic, could only handle so much before something had to give. There simply wasn't energy for it. Puck had explained to Sabrina by quoting his favorite TV show, Once. "Magic always comes with a price!" He had grinned. "But the problem is knowing what that price is. It usually draws itself from the energy of the surrounding life, which is usually just the plants. But once some idiot wanted enough power to create a time-traveling wand and set off a volcano."

"Where's the wand now?" Sabrina had asked.

"Dunno." The Faerie King shrugged. "He took it with him somewhere, but no one knows where he went. Haven't found it yet. He could still be in the future, or really far back in the past."

So obviously they didn't have the wand.

"But it is the entrance to the castle." Jake pointed out, running a hand through his hair. True to his predictions, Puck was much more eager to acknowledge a war was going on than Oberon had been. It was easier for the magician to gather his supplies and do an inventory of weapons, but he was still short on daylight and long on work hours.

"True." Philip, the head guard, acknowledged. "But his majesty," He bowed to Puck, "is correct. Our preparations ought to be kept as quiet as possible for the moment."

"Why?" Sabrina had been sitting silently, listening to the debate. "If we know there's definitely going to be a war, why wouldn't we tell everyone now? It might be useful to know who's on your side."

Mustardseed nodded. "That's what usually happens, yes. Unfortunately, this is the easiest time to put in spies. We have little idea of who is on our side, and those who have been proven faithful have already been contacted."

"How could you not know who would help you and who wouldn't?" Sabrina asked. "Aren't most Everafters hundreds of years old?"

"Yeah." Puck nodded. "But that doesn't mean much. Most of the newer Everafters have never had a chance to prove themselves. They just kinda exist to pay taxes at this point. We don't have wars very often, Grimm. At least," He added thoughtfully, "not ones that are purely Everafter."

"They're destructive." Mustardseed explained. "The last war was before Puck was even born. But after the Faeries nearly lost, Oberon was determined to have an army on standby."

"One of the few good ideas he had." Jake said. "The war only happened because he was seen as weak and peaceful."

Sabrina snorted. "No offense, but Oberon was hardly peaceful."

Philip stiffened. "Oberon was alive for six thousand years. He has seen the passing of ages, the fall of empires, the mistakes of many kings and dictators. It would be foolish to assume he would not become hardened."

"Philip was with Oberon from the beginning." Mustardseed jumped in. "If he says that Oberon was once peaceful, we must believe him. He did not earn his position by lying, nor by flattery."

"You're talking like you were reading the annals of Faerie again." Puck yawned. "Seriously, Mustardseed. It isn't hard to talk like a normal person."

Mustardseed shot his king a dry look. "I'm a Faerie prince, living underneath New York, planning a secret war that we cannot let even our own subjects know of. Excuse me for not using the jargon you would prefer."

"You could at least try." Puck shrugged.

"Or you could-"

Jake and Philip coughed simultaneously. "If we could get back to wark, your excellencies..."

"Bleh." Puck grimaced, but turned his attention back to the table,a nd charts spread out across it. Statistics stared back at him, seemingly taunting him as he tried to focus. Why had he given up making grenades for this job, anyway?

Sabrina leaned closer to the table, and closer to Puck. He wasn't the same smelly boy she had met five months ago. He was responsible now, the person Mustardseed had believed he could be. And it was strange. He could be making fart jokes one minute, debating on the percentage Everafters should be taxed the next. He was also depressed.

It wasn't something he advertised. He had a habit of bottling up anything he wanted to ignore, but it was positively dripping off of him. His free time was cut to nonexistence, his father was dead, and he was in charge of planning a war. Her family might be missing, but at least she was pretty sure they were alive. When she had asked Puck before, he had actually given her a thoughtful answer.

"It wouldn't really help them if they did kill your family. Your parents were kind of changing Faerie, they'd be bargaining chips, if nothing else. And your little brother and sister would be leverage enough to get your parents to do anything they wanted. But Veronica and Henry were both political geniuses. My bet is that they're being blackmailed into helping the Scarlet Hand. They probably told them that they killed you."

"What?"

"Well, they didn't want to kidnap you, what with the warding and all. And they couldn't try to kill you, because then they would have just let the warding out anyway. So they probably used you anyway. At least, I would have."

Sabrina had punched him on the shoulder, he had moaned that she still couldn't throw a punch, and everything went back to normal. But Sabrina couldn't stop thinking about it. Di her parents really think she was dead? Or what if Puck was wrong, and they had just killed everyone?

Mustardseed had shrugged those worries off, too. "If they were going to kill your parents, they would have done it already to make a statement. I wouldn't worry about that, if I were you."

"What if we placed guards at the central entrance rooms, and along certain hallways?" Philip proposed, effectively drawing Sabrina back to the present. "Then we could put more magical warding over the Golden egg, and it would be less detectable."

"Mm..." Jake nodded. "Yes, but we also need magic to power other parts of the castle. So we still couldn't go overboard."

"We could shut down some of those rooms, though." Puck shifted closer to Sabrina. "I mean, do we really need all of them?"

Mustardseed flipped through his file box, and extracted a pink folder. He opened it, and pulled a sheet out, handing it to Puck. "These are the rooms that use magic on a regular basis. We definitely need to keep the magic on the armoury, and the archives."

"But, Sabrina tugged the paper from Puck's hands, "you don't really need the botannical gardens, the theater room, or the engine rooms safeguarded, do you?"

"But the dungeons and the holding cells definitely need the power. Maybe moreso than before." Jake argued. "That's where you keep the Jabberwocky, and the giants."

"What?" Sabrina blinked. Giants? Jabberwockies?

"Also the minotaur, a flaming horse, and Jason. Among others." Mustardseed nodded.

"Jason is a small, hairy... Thing." Puck explained. "He's awesome. Likes hard rock and chocolate ice cream."

"He also enjoys setting fire to thatched cottages." Philip added. "More than a few of history's finest were caused by Jason."

"Well, that's why he's still in prison." Puck reasoned.

"Why do you essentially have a jabberwocky in your basement?" Sabrina asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. Jake had said that one had killed his father, and that they were monsters, the kind that didn't even get put in movies, they were so scary.

"Because where else were we supposed to put him? It's not like these things can just be put in a zoo." Puck explained. "And we can't risk someone letting it loose, especially in New York. So the magic has to stay there."

"I still think we should rely on manpower more." Philip frowned. "It's easily replaced, but Magic can't be regenerated. Once that's gone, it's gone forever."

"True." Mustardseed nodded. "But we've got a limited supply of troops, too."

Sabrina sighed. "You know, humans have gotten along without magic for a very long time. Maybe you should try some of our tactics."

"Humans are more often in war than out of it." Philip disagreed. "they must know very little,"

"Tell that to the Roman Empire. You were there while it was." Sabrina argued.

"The Romans were brutes." Philip countered.

"And they survived for thousands of years." Sabrina pointed out. "You could at least look into it."

"She's right." Mustardseed said. "What could it hurt? As we have learned, we don't have enough resources. It would be foolish not to use what we have to our best ability."

"Awesome. Are we done here?" Puck stretched. "I have to go argue with some idiot about why he can't terrorize the subway with pixies."

"You're just mad because you didn't think of it." Mustardseed grinned, piling up his papers. "I will have more information reaady for you at our next meeting."

~Sisters Grimm~

Yeah, I missed Jake. What do you think of Philip?

Review Replies!

Catlover360: Thanks! I really like AUs, but I don't like it when they're all basically the same. So I thought I'd try to write one like this, mostly because I've never seen it before. Or at least done the way I would want. Mustardseed is cool, y'all.

quillandspindle: Thanks! I'm glad you caught up. I don't post a lot, but it's easy to lose track. I'm especially proud of Puck and Mustardseed's relationship.

LavendarMoonRose: In my head, Oberon is at least six thousand years old. His coronation was at the same time as his marriage, which we know was five thousand years ago. So I don't think it'd be entirely inaccurate to say that there wouldn't be too many Everafters who stuck around that long. Some of them probably died, but others would have migrated away.

Anyway, that's all I have today! Leave reviews!

'Til Next Time!

-The Irish Lass


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Sabrina sighed, carefully shutting the door behind her as she surveyed her room. The walls that had once been a lemon yellow were marked with black smudges from Puck kicking off of them as he floated above her head, taunting her for not being able to speak perfect conversation French. One of the curtains had been torn by Sabrina attempting a new type of fighting stance (She had tripped over a shirt lying on the floor and accidently fell against the wall, taking the curtain with her).

The desk, white and obviously vintage had schoolbooks and papers strewn around it, spilling onto the floor and piling up beside it. Her bed was still rumpled from when she had woken up that morning, realized she was fifteen minutes late for archery practice, and torn off towards the training room, only to wait for Puck for another five minutes while he finished some delegation or other.

The bathroom was filled with her favorite shampoo and conditioner, her bottles of soap lined up on a shelf, her robe hanging off a hook on the door.

It wasn't the impersonal room she had spent her first night in. It had character now, and she thought of it as her own.

Sabrina huffed, and dropped onto the unmade bed, sprawling out as she toed off her sneakers. It felt like she had been in Faerie forever. She hadn't emailed anyone from school in weeks, hadn't missed her apartment for longer. Worse, she was beginning to forget what things looked and sounded like. Her mother's grin of triumph when one of her crazy cooking experiments came out halfway edible, Daphne's happy chatter when she scored all A's on her report card. The way her father's eyes crinkled when he told an especially bad joke, and the way Basil's face lit up when he got Biscuit to do a trick. Sabrina wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to the puppy.

Her old life was slipping away, being replaced by the crazy whirlwind of events that had surrounded her since her family's abduction. And, okay, now that she knew what lay beneath New York, she wouldn't go back to the way things had been. But she wouldn't trade either of them for the other. Of course something terrible would have to happen for her to be able to find Faerie.

What, she wondered, staring at the ceiling, (which also had mud marks from Puck's converse) would happen when everything ended? When the war was over and she had her family back? Would she just leave Puck and Mustardseed? Go on with life as she had planned before meeting them?

She had done it to her old life. She could do it to this one, too. But she didn't want to. She wanted to keep having afternoon discussions with Mustardseed over books, morning sword practice with Puck.

Puck... He was all that Mustardseed had said he was. He was a warrior, a king. And, she grinned to herself, by the very fact that he hadn't blown everything up yet, he must be pretty good at it. True, he was still obnoxious, farted and laughed as others gagged on the stench. He had recently found out the "That's what she said" joke, and used it to baffle his less than culture savvy advisors. And his personal hygiene could be easily described as lacking.

But he understood what was important. He never joked when Sabrina asked a serious question, never blew off war council meetings, took weapons seriously. True, he still mocked Sabrina's chick flick movies and shows, but he didn't think they were as thrilling as she did (He did, however, binge watch all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, and threw pillows at the TV when Lorelei and Luke broke up.)

And she was beginning to have a hard time squashing the butterflies in her stomach when he was around. Seriously. It was getting ridiculous. Every time he tossed a grin in her direction... Poof! A veritable herd of the insects seemed to materialize.

She used to laugh at her friends when they gushed over their crushes and complained about feeling fluttery around them. It wasn't funny anymore. It wasn't that Sabrina had never had a crush before, just that it had never been this bad. It was pathetic how easily she melted. And of course he didn't feel the same way she did. He was an immortal king, she was barely a blip on his screen.

Halfway across the castle, Puck was spaced out in a debate. Sabrina couldn't like him... right? She had made it pretty clear that she wasn't impressed by his royal status. Which was part of the reason he liked her. But she did like the earrings he gave her...

If he asked Mustardseed, Mustardseed would just quirk and eyebrow at him and ask why he didn't just ask Sabrina out. Which, no. Wasn't going to happen. What if she said no? Then it would be all awkward and she would never talk to him again. And that was not cool.

"Majesty?" One of the diplomats, a skinny faced, shrewish looking man, interrupted Puck's train of thought.

"Yes?" Puck started, straightening in his seat. he was so tired of arguing over whether or not taxes should be lowered. He needed to enforce a feeling of goodwill if he was going to ask his subjects to follow him into a war. Plus, they were ridiculously high. What did they even spend all this money on? Maybe if he had been listening, he would know.

"We need your signature, here." The man pointed at the bottom line of a sheet of legal paper.

Puck quickly scanned the sheet of paper. Taxes. Increases, percentages, decreases and more percentages.

"As you can see, Majesty, we simply cannot do away with the health tax. It would reduce our treasury."

Puck set the document aside and leaned forwards, folding his hands together. "And what, exactly, is this health tax. I want the exact description, gentlemen, not a watered down version to pacify me."

Ah, the joys of being king. Puck couldn't believe he had ever wanted this job. He might as well have been a business executive.

~Sisters Grimm~

Mustardseed was humming, Sabrina noted. And it wasn't some long forgotten overture or anything so dignified. No. He was humming Highway to Hell.

Sabrina laughed, struck by the hilarity of it. Mustardseed startled, and stopped his humming. "What? Did I miss something?"

They were reviewing battle plans, Mustardseed swept away in a new attempt to teach her history. "You need to write a paper on battle strategies for history? You could get some first hand experience, you know." Were his exact words. Sabrina thought he got lonely, tucked away in his office all day. Not even his girlfriend, Rapunzel, visited him too often when he hit work-mode. She said she just wanted to kiss him, it was so adorable. And then what would he get done?

Puck had snorted and said, "He wants someone to join him in his love of color-coding. Don't make yourself think more of it than it is, Grimm."

"No." Sabrina grinned. "You were just humming."

Mustardseed cocked his head, waiting for the hilarity to strike.

"You were humming Highway to Hell." Sabrina clarified. At Mustardseed's look of absolute horror, she doubled over laughing.

"I was not!" Mustardseed protested. "I don't even listen to-"

"Classic rock?" Sabrina inserted, giggling. "You would have to."

"I might have looked into it. I ought to stay on top of the world's culture." Mustardseed attempted desperately to salvage his reputation. "It does not do for the king's chief advisor to be behind the times."

Sabrina only laughed harder.

~Sisters Grimm~

Well, the chapter is shorter than I intended. I really wanted it to be longer, to make up for my absense last week. But... I think it's better this way. I only wanted to include a small tidbit with Jake and Puck anyway. Maybe it will be in a later chapter. I don't know yet. But after the last chapter, full of battle stragedy and other boring stuff, I wanted to let you have the chance to see their everyday lives again.

According to my outline, we're only a few chapters away from some really interesting stuff. I can't wait to write it.

Anyway, the reason I didn't update last week... I was actually at a Robotics Competition. It's a three and a half day affair, and it was so much fun! My team didn't win, but just being surrounded by that type of energy? It feels good. Until you get home and crash.

Anyway, the reason you're reading this note at all: Here are your review replies!

Dark lord of bun: Thanks! I'm really very glad you're enjoying this.

rock legend 166: This is very loosly based on the series, not the fourth book alone. I don't really know yet what all characters are going to be included. Moth is definitely dead. I'm not going to bring her back, like in some b-rate soap opera. She definitely kicked the bucket. And I'm not entirely certain what all Sabrina is going to endure yet. I want it to be something really hard, because that is the stuff heroes are forged from.

Catlover360: I feel like people are missing a lot by not including Mustardseed. He could be anything, really. A vengeful brother, robbed of the throne. A support as Puck takes over. A sarcastic wisecracker. He could be so useful in so many stories. I love him so much.

Guest: You know, I never even got much past the first few episodes of Once Upon A Time. I think I should, but i just keep forgetting.

FABULOUSGIRLFOREVER5555: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying this so much. I kinda needed some extra desperation for Sabrina, so I took her siblings away from her, too.

Liz: I wish I could claim credit for Mustardseed's name, but really, it was Shakespeare who came up with it. And Michael Buckley got it from him, and then I stole it from him.

Okay, so that's all for now. I may or may not update next week. We'll see. It depends.

In case I don't, Happy Easter!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	16. Chapter 16

Mustardseed was getting tired of reports. He was bored with military numbers, exhausted of ally reports. He wanted to get out of his office, to do something. Maybe with Rapunzel, or Puck, or Sabrina. He just wanted to get out.

He couldn't. Well, he could, But he would feel guilty. He didn't know why. If he remembered to eat something that wasn't couple with two five-hour energy shots, he was having a relaxing day. He did spend more time in his office-slash-bedroom than he spent in any other room in the castle. So really, if he wanted to take the day off and go get some coffee with his girlfriend, it wasn't a bad thing, was it?

No, he decided, it wasn't. Even Puck took an hour off every day to cause mayhem somewhere. So it wasn't a bad thing that he would want to take some time off.

He stood up, decisively tugging on his jacket. He was going to go find Rapunzel, and they'd go to Starbucks or something. Sabrina had introduced him to the chain store, and he couldn't stay away from it. Plus, if he took his phone, he could still get any reports that came. SO it wasn't exactly taking time off. Just time away.

Yeah. He almost fooled himself with that excuse, too.

~Sisters Grimm~

Puck was brooding. Sabrina could feel the angst, even through her studying. Seriously, this trigonometry was not easy. Could he at least have the courtesy to sulk somewhere else? Somewhere that wasn't the living room she had found tucked away?

"What?" She finally snapped, setting down her pen to glower at the Faerie king.

He looked up from his tablet, seemingly surprised. But Sabrina knew that he had just been waiting for her to say something. To distract him.

"Nothing. Mustardseed sent me some reports." Puck sat down next to her on the squashy red sofa, holding his ipad out to her. "Look at these names."

Sabrina took the ipad, grimacing at the screen. "Were you eating cheese puffs the last time you used this?" She asked, swiping her sleeve across the screen. The orange dust wiped away, she squinted at the tiny print.

"Charming? As in, Prince Charming?" She raised an eyebrow. "Cinderella, Derek, Flinty... Flinty?"

"The Little Match Girl." Puck explained, settling down on the opposite end of the sofa and plopping his feet on Sabrina's book. She shoved them off.

"Didn't she-"

"Die?" Puck nodded, closing his eyes and locking his hands behind his head. He needed a haircut. He was beginning to look kind of shaggy. "Yeah, well, the stories get an awful lot wrong. She actually got pneumonia, and some old lady took her in. But she's fine now. Leads some organization against child abuse."

"Okay." Sabrina looked back at the screen. "Looks like you've got a diverse group here." She tried to hand back the ipad, but Puck refuse to open his eyes to look at her, so she set it down on his stomach.

"That's the problem." Puck yawned. "They've got no unity. Unless you count the fact they all have a reason to support the scarlet Hand. So why would they support us? After all, it's not like humans have ever done much for them."

Sabrina poked the sole of his foot with her pen. "Well, excuse me."

"You really haven't." Puck wriggled into a more comfortable position, his eyes still closed. "The Salem witch trials, your laws, your-" he yawned, cutting himself off.

Sabrina couldn't bring herself to be insulted. He looked too much like a teddy bear, sleepy and exhausted. And he was probably right, anyway. She sighed, and turned back to her textbook.

~Sisters Grimm~

Mustardseed loved coffee. He had been drinking tea before Sabrina was thrown into their lives. Tea was a good, English drink. Coffee was inferior. A new invention, sure to be gone within a few years. And then Sabrina had introduced him to heightened caffeine content.

Hours more time awake, flavors he had never encountered before. coffee was, to borrow Puck's new favorite word, awesome.

It was decidedly more awesome when he was sharing it with Rapunzel than when he was drinking it alone while typing out orders to Philip.

The Starbucks break had done him a lot of good. Sunshine had felt nice, even if it was still cold enough out that he had had to wear his jacket. And it had been refreshing to spend time with Rapunzel, to listen to her talk about her job, the shoes that she had found somewhere, and to generally take his mind off of work.

Mustardseed wasn't stupid. He knew Rapunzel hated war, but would support his side if it came down to it. He also knew that she had been carefully distracting him from the fact that he was taking an afternoon off. She didn't usually talk about shoes, after all. She usually talked about books, and trivia, and the silly things she had encountered. Shoes were a last ditch attempt to keep him from checking his email. Again.

But he was back now. And looking over locations to hold a war. Violence, Puck had tightly informed him, was going up. The Gingerbread Man had turned up dead just last week, and now one of Puck's officials was gone. And Puck suspected that another had defected to the Scarlet Hand, because he'd handed in a resignation two days before.

"No one resigned from Father's council." Puck had fumed, his hair flopping into his eyes. He really needed a haircut. Mustardseed had idly wondered if that meant he needed one, too. He hadn't gotten it cut in a while, after all.

"So you got rid of the spy." Sabrina had rolled her eyes without looking up from her list of Puck's council members. "Big deal. You didn't want him anyway."

And she had had a point. But the matter had demonstrated to Puck that there were very few people he could trust. And that was good. It might be hard to win the trust of the King, but it wasn't hard to betray it.

So now Puck was doubly careful to keep any hint of war way from everyone. Only Sabrina, Jake, Philip, Mustardseed and Puck knew what was going on. All the palace guards probably thought that Puck was completely insane, ordering second patrols and guarding every entrance.

But, oh well. Better than the truth.

And Faerie, Mustardseed thought miserable, would need to dip deep into its pockets to pay for this war. They couldn't hold a war in the middle of New York, they'd have to go somewhere else. A ranch in Texas was ideal, with miles and miles of ground surrounding it. They'd be practically excluded from the world, free to have their war with only cattle as witnesses. But the biggest ranch was owned by some multi-millionaire, and definitely wasn't for sale.

They could use magic, of course, and get him to give it to them for a few years. He probably had enough money to fix anything they ruined after the war, anyway. But Mustardseed didn't like to do that. He didn't want to rip someone's life apart, because when you've done it once, you could do it again much more easily.

But he was a leader now, not a scared child hiding behind paperwork. He'd have to get Puck to approve, but then he'd get the ranch. Somehow. probably using magic.

For some reason, he felt the inexplicable urge to cry.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Okay, the hair is getting ridiculous." Sabrina had just watched both Faeries flick their bangs out of their eyes for the fifth time in the past fifteen minutes.

They both looked up from their work, hair flopping back into their eyes as they stared at her. Puck recovered first.

"You just wish you looked as sexy as I do."

Sabrina blushed. Okay, so Puck was good looking. She didn't need to puff his ego up by telling him she agreed.

"You look like a pair of Ewoks." She said instead.

"What are Ewoks?" Mustardseed asked, raising an eyebrow. Had he just been insulted?

Sabrina rolled her eyes at him. "Chewbacca?" At their blank stares, she tried again, "Star Wars?" At their silence, she threw up her hands. "Oh, for the love of Pete! How in the world did you miss Star Wars?"

"You mean that weird show where they explored space?" Puck asked uncertainly, as if she might bite off his head if he was wrong.

Apparently, he was very wrong. Very, very wrong, if the way she was staring at him was any indication.

"That-" She started faintly, "That was Star Trek."

"Well, at least there's a 'Star' in both of their names." Mustardseed murmured. He had no idea what she was talking about. at least Puck had taken a stab at it.

"You guys are just sad." Sabrina shook her head. "Come on." She stood up. "Your getting hair cuts an I'm renting star Wars." She stopped on her way to the door and turned back to them. "Seriously? You've never seen Star Wars?"

~Sisters Grimm~

Two weeks later, the ranch had been acquired, the owner taking a stab at investing in condos in South America. Puck and Mustardseed had seen Star Wars and gotten haircuts. They were still debating about the movies.

And two weeks and one day later, the Scarlet Hand made an attack.

~Sisters Grimm~

Wow. It's been a while.

I've actually got some excuses, which are pretty good. But since I want to finish this Fic by Christmas, I won't waste my time.

So I decided on my college. I'm not ready to be an adult. Really, really not ready.

Okay, so here's the thing: I really don't have much reason to continue with this fic. It seems like very few people are actually enjoying this story, and I do give up a lot of free time to write this thing. So if you don't mind, please drop me a line of encouragement. I'm not really seeing a reason to keep putting so much effort into this, to be completely honest, and I would feel much better if I knew that there were people enjoying it.

Review Replies!

LavendarMoonRose: Robotics is really cool. And I didn't even build the thing. And I haven't made up my mind about Biscuit. Not yet.

CatLover360: I don't get Spring Break. I'm still in highschool. But next year I will. And won't that be fun?

Queen of Cookie Dough: Thanks! I'm glad to see you're enjoying it! And I finished the first eight seasons of Doctor Who, but then it got taken off of Netflix, and I haven't found it anywhere else. I'm still not over 11. Matt Smith is an amazing actor, and I loved at Ponds.

Guest: At this point, I don't have time to keep up with TV shows, so I have no idea how Once Upon a Time is coming along. Most of my information about it comes from my sister, who also watches it.

BallisticOctopus: Well, it's a month later, and I finally updated. Sorry. But thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying this so much!

Guests who all asked me to update: Well, I finally did. I hope you enjoyed this!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	17. Chapter 17

The day started off ordinary enough. At six thirty, Sabrina rolled over and slapped the snooze button on her alarm clock, rolling over to go back to sleep, grumpily acknowledging the fact that ten minutes later, she'd need to get up and get moving.

Three hours later, Puck was trapped in his office, signing documents and scribbling new laws on a piece of torn notebook paper.

Mustardseed was still in his own office, nine hours after that, squinting over his moral s and trying to decide if he really, desperately needed that ranch in Texas, despite the fact that he already knew that he did.

All in all, a normal day.

So it was a shock when Philip marched into his office, snapped to attention, and handed over a rolled up scroll. "Your Highness, the latest report."

"Yes, yes." Mustardseed waved blindly at him. "Sit down, will you?" Where had he left that letter opener? Oh. there. Okay. He slit the wax seal, glancing up when he registered that Philip was still standing, still at classic attention. Mustardseed grimaced. "It's that bad?"

"Your Highness can judge that for himself."

So, the answer was yes then. Mustardseed groaned, and unfurled the parchment (because Faeries were older than the time system humans clung to. They held onto old traditions. And if those traditions included completely outdated methods of communication, well, it had been effective enough three thousand years ago. It would do just as well now, thank you very much.) " _We regret to inform Your Most Serene highness that there has been numerous signs of Scarlet hand activity over the day. These include-"_

"Get my- Go inform the King that I request his presence at the earliest possible convenience." Mustardseed ordered, looking up to Philip. "Immediately."

~Sisters Grimm~

"These include an enchantment found in the lower subway system, a witch performing curses, a group of twenty armed Gremlins attacking the New York University, and the murder of Guardsman Hephale and Doctor Cobweb."

"The ill-fated Doctor, may he find the meadows of peace and tranquility, was found bearing a note that proclaimed the Scarlet Hand's intentions, signed by their head General, MM. Below follows the note, in its entirety. The original has been conveyed to the Wizard Gandalf, in hopes that he will be able to shed some light on the origins."

Puck stopped reading the report out loud, and turned to look at Mustardseed. "Let me guess, destruction and mayhem if we don't do whatever they want?"

"Basically." Mustardseed pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed as Puck perused the rest of the message silently.

"This is bad." Puck finally sighed, letting the parchment curl shut, as if doing so would erase the information it contained.

Mustardseed nodded. "No shit, Sherlock."

Puck waved the curse away, instead reopening the scroll. "MM? You think that's how he signed off, or just the writer forgot to include the full note?"

"Since he saw it fit to include the traditional blessing of the dead for Cobweb, I highly doubt he decided to cut corners there." Mustardseed replied.

"You're being pissy." Puck noted absently, scanning the report again.

"Of course I am." Mustardseed groused. "I don't want to fight a war, and I don't want to move all of Faerie to some God forsaken piece of ground in Texas!" The sentence had started off in a normal tone, but by the time Mustardseed had ended, he was shouting.

"Well, gee, it was on my top ten list." Puck retorted. "I really wanted to become king of a secret realm, which, by the way, isn't at all like those dumb fairy tales. And then I wanted to try to field off a war, and keep most of it from my advisors, and then I thought, how can I make my life more miserable? Oh, I know. I'll go and fight the damn thing. Which I probably will have to!"

"Go cry a river." Mustardseed snarled. "I forgot that my problems are less important than yours are, _oh my King. "_

"I never said that." Puck hissed.

"No? You implied it, every time you shoved reports away to go prank someone. Because turning the Duke of West Side's ears blue is so crucial, especially next to some upstart attempting to start a bloody war!"

"You know what, Mustardseed? Why don't you go shove-"

"No! You listen to me for once in your life. You are going to sit your royal ass down, and you're going to look over everything I have notes on. And then you're going to make suggestions. Because I am sick of doing all the work, and knowing that you will get all the credit."

"I don't take credit for your work." Puck hissed.

"But you certainly don't attempt to squash any heroic ideals anyone might have of you."

"What ideals? No one listens to me, no one trusts me, and no one tells me anything. I'm not a hero, and I never will be."

"Shut up!" Mustardseed slammed his hand against the desk, smashing a glass paperweight between his fist and the unyielding surface of the desk. "You are a hero."

"No, really, I'm not." All the fight evaporated from the older brother, and he slumped. "I'm nothing but an irresponsible brat, and I never should have become king. It should have been you."

"Yeah, it should have, shouldn't it? But it's not. So deal with it, and do your job."

~Sisters Grimm~

"We're doing what?" Jacob started. "Why?"

"Because there'd be less casualties in an empty ranch in Texas then there would be in New York." Philip's face was tight.

"But Faerie's been the base of New York since forever." Jacob argued. "You can't just leave it behind now."

"We can if it means people will die if we don't." Puck retorted. "We need to move out, and we need to move out now. People have died already, and more deaths would be unacceptable. We're leaving within the next week." He paused to smirk. "I hope you like the heat."

~Sisters Grimm~

"Home sweet home." Sabrina sighed, thumping a duffle bag onto the porch of the giant ranch house. The mansion rose sixty feet into the air, flower beds adding color to the carefully kept white paint of the slats. To the left were old cowboy bunkers, which Puck was already planning on remodeling into bunkers for soldiers.

As a base, it was the best that could be found on short notice. Miles of empty farmland surrounded them, flat and barren. A man made pond waited behind the bunkers. The ranch house was huge, waiting to be filled with officials and turned into a hospital. The bunkers were filled with bunk beds, no space wasted. Sabrina thought it was a strange thing to enforce on your employees when there was so much empty room surrounding them.

"Mm." Mustardseed hummed, tucking away his wings. He and Puck had flown in from New York, obviously looking at the hundreds of miles of distance as satisfactory exercise after being trapped in a growing city for years, hiding from all types of notice from the humans. Sabrina and Jacob had tag-teamed drove a Jake's ancient, wheezing Jalopy. all the way from New York. Titiana and her flock of attendants would show up within the next week. The former queen was not thrilled to be moving away from her home, no matter how temporary it might be. "It will suffice."

"It should." Puck grunted.

Sabrina glanced uncertainly between the brothers. Something had shifted between them, but she didn't know what. They were both being unusually stiff with each other. Hopefully, whatever it was would rub off and be forgotten soon enough. They were the generals of the army, after all. If they were fighting, there was no hope that they could even begin to unify an army.

Then again, they could both just be tense, and it would wear off. It wasn't like they were the only siblings who ever fought, after all.

"Come on, let's see what's inside." Puck shouldered past Mustardseed and into the house. Sabrina glanced worriedly at Mustardseed's stoic face before trailing after Puck.

The inside was devoid of any knick-knacks, but the furniture was all still there. The sofas, pool tables, kitchen appliances and other necessary items were all intact.

"I let them take everything that meant any personal significance to them with them." Mustardseed murmured.

"It's perfect." Sabrina smiled up at the faerie. "We couldn't ask for better."

"We could ask that there not be a war." Puck grunted.

"Or we could ask for World peace." Mustardseed snapped, rounding on his brother. "But begging will reap no benefit. So suck it up and get busy."

"I did not ask you for your opinion, _advisor."_ Puck retorted, glowering at him.

"And yet I volunteered it."

"Learn your place."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys!" Sabrina shouted. "What the heck? No, seriously, what the everlasting gobstopper? What has gotten into you two? And don't you dare," She raised a warning finger, "say it was his fault and not yours."

"It's nothing." Mustardseed coaxed up a weak, completely unconvincing smile. "We're both just stressed."

"Yeah, and I'd believe that if I had ever seen you two handle an assassination on your own father and keep your cool." She rolled her eyes. "I don't believe you. Like, at all."

"Well, Mustardseed's being a pissy little b-"

"Yeah, see, that's exactly what I don't want to hear. Try the truth." She folded her arms and glared.

"I told you, we're both stressed."

"And blaming each other for something completely out of your control? Or are you both jealous of each other." A beat of silence. "You have got to be kidding me." She groaned. "What do you even have to be jealous about? You're both reasonably intelligent, figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Jake poked his head into the room. "Ah, never mind." He made a hasty retreat.

"Figure it out soon, though." Sabrina continued as if though she hadn't been interrupted. "Your allies and soldiers will be coming inn tomorrow. What do you think they're going to see? A pair of competent leaders who can lead them into battle? Or two jerks who can't get along long enough to save any one? Because if this keeps up, that's exactly what they're going to see. And they'll never follow you."

~Sisters Grimm~

 **So the update is a little late. I was busy, then I had to work and go to my Grandmother's, so here we are, a little late, but here we are.**

 **Things between Mustardseed and Puck are obviously heating up a little. Sibling fights, people. Gotta love 'em. I felt like there wasn't enough conflict between the two of them, so I added it. Fun times.**

 **A side note: There is a lot of cussing here. I wanted to show tempers rising. It will not become the norm, because I don't feel like that's how these characters were raised. I apologize for any discomfort it may have caused you.**

 **Your response was tremendous. I'm glad to know so many people enjoy this story, after all. I seriously thought no one really cared and only read it when they were really bored.**

 **Anyway, here's the main attraction, Review Replies!**

 **PhoenixUndead: As you can see, I chose to keep updating. I'm glad to see that you love this story, though!**

 **Freedom Hunter: There are not enough Sisters Grimm fanfics, I agree. Glad to see that you're happy that this is one of them!**

 **AubergineSnowdrop: First of all, I'm glad you enjoy this. Second, I was not trying to threaten anyone, and I didn't complain about my readers. I said that I did not feel that this story was being enjoyed, and let's be completely honest here, if no one's enjoying it, why should I bother to keep writing it? It would just be a waste of my time, which I really don't have a lot of. I do enjoy writing it, but it always feels when you've put something out here, you need to finish it. It sounds weird, but it's true. That being said, thank you for your review, and for your advice. I really did enjoy reading it.**

 **Basketball28: I'm glad to hear that you love this fic so much! Can you make any recommendations for Sisters Grimm fics? I haven't been reading any fanfic lately, and I'd like to get back into it, but the set of authors I knew all sort of left. But I do plan to keep updating, I can tell you that.**

 **Guest: I am planning to keep writing this, actually. So you have that. And I can tell you that I'm planning to introduce Relda into the fic pretty soon, probably within the next couple chapters.**

 **LavendarMoonRose: I don't know that people are or aren't enjoying the story. That was the problem. I was getting no feedback, so I had no idea how to keep going. It's hard to write a fic like this when no one gives you any direction, or preferences. And, yes, the attacks have started. I though it was high time.**

 **HappyHippiHippo: Nice penname. As you can see, I kept going with this fic. So there you are. Thanks for your review!**

 **Catlover360: I am going to keep writing. Updates are obviously sporadic, because real life unfortunately comes before imagined. And I love that aspect of the princes' characters: They've been around for thousands of years, so most modern stuff probably seems pretty temporary to them.**

 **Guest: Thanks! I will.**

 **FABULOUSGIRLFOREVER5555: So, you didn't like that? I sort of did like how the Scarlet Hand finally started making their moves. I meant, it has been building up since about chapter five. And I love to end chapters like that. Someday, if I ever write a book, someone who read these fics will pick it up and realize that they were reading something by someone who learned to write through fanfiction. I actually did meet someone who had never seen Star Wars. You should have seen my face when they told me that they had never watched it. So I gave that reaction to Sabrina.**

 **Guest: Well, it looks like I'm not allowed to quit. So enjoy some more fanfic from me!**

 **Guest: Hold on to your hat, I'm gonna keep going. I'm glad to hear that you like it, though.**

 **Guest: Autocorrect keeps correcting me. Sorry. I do know it's Titiana, but my word app does not. So it keeps coming up wrong in the fic.**

 **So school is out for the summer, and I don't have to leave for college yet. Yay! I actually have more free time now than I have had in a long time. So maybe I can update more. We'll see, won't we?**

 **Anyway, I've jabbered on long enough. But in the next chapter, you'll see the faeries settling into their base, and all the magical difficulties that come along with it. (I didn't like how William Buckley just had everything done by magic, so we'll see how that goes.)**

' **Til next time!**

 **-The Irish Lass**


	18. Chapter 18

When Puck woke up, his first thought was that this was not his bedroom. Which was a totally stupid thought, because of course it wasn't. They had already moved into the ranch house, and appropriated rooms. He knew it wasn't his.

It didn't make it any less of a shock to realize that the walls were a warm brown instead of green, or that the sound that woke him was Mustardseed's snoring. Puck winced. He hadn't known his brother was so loud when he was sleeping. They had never shared a room, or a tree when Oberon had still insisted on traditionalism, before he realized that four walls and a roof meant that your things didn't get blown away in gusts of wind.

He glanced at the bed across the room. Mustardseed was curled on his side, head burrowed between two pillows, with only his nose poking out. The rest of the faerie was covered with the blue blanket.

Puck groaned loudly and stretched, scratching under his armpit. They had two days to get the camp ready before people and soldiers began showing up. The small workforce that was supposed to arrive that morning wasn't supposed to come for another few hours, so they had the entire place to themselves for now. Deliveries were going to ruin that.

Food to feed an army with varying tastes, weapons to outfit those who had never fought before. Armor, first aid supplies, and a million other things that he and Mustardseed had deemed necessary for a magical war. Puck had the sneaking hunch that they might have forgotten something, but he did every time there was a war. It wasn't surprising that he'd feel it again. Besides, they had a few weeks of peace before the Scarlet Hand followed them. Hopefully.

But for now, he needed to get up and get busy. He couldn't afford to sleep in, not if all the things that needed to get done were going to get done. His war council had to be built, he needed to find a training ground, prepare for his mother…

Titiana. She was not happy to be moving out here, and the fight had been worse than any of the ones Puck had ever overheard between his parents. Mustardseed had broken the news to her, with the hope that he would be more gentle about it than Puck would be. All it had accomplished was that it outraged her, and sent her into a temper that had never before been achieved by any living being.

She had, in short, not been at all pleased that it was Mustardseed who told her of the inevitable news. It was demeaning that she received the displeasing information from the heir, and not the king. Was she no longer important enough to merit the attention of her elder son? Was she not his mother? Or was he too busy chasing after that blonde human girl? Titiana had actually reverted into her other form, the fire breathing beast that Puck had seen once before, when Oberon had declared that they were moving away from England to America.

Titiana was to bring with her all the contents of the castle, including the monsters that they kept in the basement. Hopefully, by the time they were there, a separate fort would be set up for the monsters. Puck did not want to think about what would happen if those things got loose. But they couldn't leave them in an abandoned Faerie any more than they could set them free. Who knew? Maybe they'd even be useful weapons.

Now, though, it was time to get to work. Rome may not have been built in a day, but, then again, the humans who built Rome hadn't had any magic on their side either. First, though, Puck would have to get moving.

He ambled down to the kitchen to find Sabrina poking through the fridge. Well, one of the fridges. It was pretty obvious that whoever was the cook was used to feeding large crowds. It was an industrial sized kitchen, fit to churn out the food needed to feed a group of weary men who had spent the day chasing cows. There were two giant fridges, a walk-in freezer, three stoves, and more pots and pans than Puck was willing to expend energy to count.

"They left the groceries." She explained, pulling out some eggs. "Hungry?"

"Always." Puck nodded enthusiastically as she rummaged for a frying pan.

"Good. You can help. I have to make enough for ten people, and I don't think they'll be happy with just eggs. Go find some bread or something, would you?" She set the pan on one of the stoves. "I don't know how to cook much, but everyone likes eggs, right?"

Even if everyone didn't like eggs, they certainly knew better than to insult the only one of them willing to get up and cook for them. It wasn't really like any of them could do better than her anyway. Puck may have known every type of sword play known to man, plus a few more, but he had never bothered to learn how to cook. Neither had Philip or Mustardseed, and Jake begged off on knowing how to order from a restaurant and making coffee. The other faeries and the dwarf who had come to direct their building, only knew traditional faerie food, and were used to raw eggs and mushrooms.

"Don't get used to it." Sabrina warned as Jake and Philip began on the dishes. She was sitting with a cup of coffee cradled between her hands while Mustardseed divvied tasks out. "I know how to make about three things, and not anything else. I'm not cooking for your army."

"Don't worry about that." One of the other faeries, Jacom, spoke up. "Momma from the Golden Egg is supposed to be coming soon. She's used to cooking for crowds."

"And cooking good food." The dwarf grumbled, sniffing suspiciously at the mug of coffee that Jake had put in front of him. Tentatively, he took a sip. "Egad!" He spat it back into the mug. "It's more bitter than the cold frost of Haildriul!"

"And hot." Jacom agreed, grimacing over his own cup. Bravely, he drank more.

Sabrina snorted, and pushed the sugar bowl towards the two ancient creatures. "Try this."

"Okay." Mustardseed interrupted, just as the dwarf, whose name Sabrina didn't know yet, began to stir in some of the sugar. "I think I've got it."

"Let me guess," Jake sighed, "We're all going to be working today until the sun is long gone, and then we'll work some more."

"Yes." Mustardseed nodded. "Four and Alev are going to find and mark building sites. We need a holding pen for the monsters, a separate one for the lesser powered criminals, a storage for food, and another for weapons."

"And a third for magical items." The dwarf made an approving noise over his mug, cautiously sipping. "This is- this is good." He said with a definite amount of surprise. "Try it." He passed the sugar bowl to Jacom, who eyed it, before adding a spoonful to his own mug. "We cannae mix the magic with anything else, no matter how tempting it might be to cut corners." He continued, a hint of an accent slipping through. "Magic is too powerful and unpredictable, too much could go wrong."

"Agreed." Jake nodded.

"Very well." Mustardseed scribbled on his sheet of paper. "Can you get all of that done within the day, Four?"

The dwarf, Sabrina realized with a start, had to be Four.

"Aye, I believe we can. Perhaps even more." Four nodded, taking another gulp of his coffee.

"Jake, I want you to review our list of magical supplies, and divide them according to category." Mustardseed continued. "Also, if you could find out the needs of every prisoner we expect, it would be useful for building the prison."

"Sabrina is to organize the house and bunkers to fit as many into each as possible. We want as little energy expended on building as possible. The Scarlet Hand is not going to be looking at our interior decorating if they defeat us because we had to waste time."

"And can you make the next three meals?" Puck added from his perch on the counter. "Momma's not here until tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay." Sabrina nodded. She could handle that.

"Jacom and Harold, you are to review the perimeter and begin the enchantments necessary. I want a full list of your recommendations for protection, and I want it by tomorrow morning." Mustardseed paused and looked over his list. "Kel and Philip," the final two looked up, saluting, "you are to go over our list of expected allies and determine their levels and fields of expertise."

"Puck is to write a training regime, and the two of us will be reviewing documents for the rest of the day." He finished, folding up his paper. "Any questions?" The silence was only broken by Jacom's and Four's eager gulping from their mugs. "Good. Then let's begin."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina paused in counting the bunk beds in the third bunker. There was a lot of wasted space, they could definitely put three more sets in. "Hey."

"How did you know I was here?" Puck asked, stepping out of the doorway and into the high ceilinged room. It had to be. Each bunk bed was comprised of four bunks, a ladder built in for those on the higher levels.

"Ninja sense." Sabrina grinned, writing down her recommendations in her notebook. She ignored the fluttering in her stomach that set up camp every time Puck was anywhere near her. "What's up? Aren't you supposed to be figuring out how to make someone's life a miserable mess of sore muscle and jumping jacks?"

"Hey, my way works." Puck protested, sitting down on the floor, cross-legged. Sabrina sat down beside him.

"I guess so." She shrugged. She was definitely doing better in his classes, when he managed to find the time to teach her. Soon, though, she'd have to share his attention, she realized with a twinge of irritation. She didn't want to.

"You guess?" Puck scoffed, and she hit him on the shoulder.

"Come on, why'd you come in here?" She asked. He couldn't be bored, not with all the work that needed to be done, and she highly doubted that he had searched her out to talk about training men she had never met.

"Why would I tell you?" He asked, rocking backwards.

Sabrina shrugged. "Why else would you be here?"

He sighed. "Mustardseed's mad at me."

"So?" Sabrina asked.

"He's never been mad at me. Ever. Not in three thousand years." Puck clarified. "Not when I broke his arm teaching him to wrestle, not when I forgot his birthday, not when I dropped his laptop in a mud pit to get him to make water balloons with me."

"Wow." Sabrina huffed a laugh. "He has the patience of a saint, then."

"Hey!"

"You dropped his laptop in a pit of mud?" Sabrina retorted. "And he didn't try to take your head off?"

"No."

"So what did you do this time?"

"I- I think I disappointed him." He wouldn't meet her eyes, instead picking at a stray thread on his hoodie sleeve. "I'm lazy and selfish, and-"

"Shut up. You're not."

"Yeah, I am! He does all the work and all I do is throw mud at people. I'm useless."

"Hey." Sabrina grabbed his shoulder and pulled him towards her. "You're not useless. You're not selfish. And you do work. You're immature and thick sometimes, but you're not useless. So throw that idea out the window. Now."

Puck turned and looked her in the eye, green eyes dry. "Yeah, I am."

"Oh, for the love of Pete." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "If you were selfish, would you have become king? Would you have taught all that stuff about fighting? Would you have tried to get my family back? Would you take your kingdom and move it halfway across the continent to save as many lives as possible? Let me answer that for you, because you're being an idiot right now." She paused. "You are a good person. Even when you dye my hair green. So don't you dare mope around and behave like a five-year-old. You're a four-thousand-year old Faerie. You know more than the rest of us. So you have to know how to fix this between you two."

Puck nodded.

"I've fed your ego enough." Sabrina smiled, and reached out to push Puck's hair out of his face. "C'mon, idiot. Let's go see what's in the kitchen. I want spaghetti."

She stood up and walked out, leaving Puck on the floor, remembering the feel of her hand in his hair and thinking about what she had said.

~Sisters Grimm~

Lunch was sandwiches. Four and Alev quickly discovered the peanut butter, and Four demanded to know why the humans had kept all the excellent food to themselves for years.

"The monsters are coming in two days, and the witches are here tomorrow afternoon." Mustardseed was reading reports. "We can expect a few of the better wizards, including one of the Weasleys."

"Weasleys?" Sabrina paused. "You mean, Harry Potter?" They ahd to be joking. She had wanted to meet Ginny Weasley since she was twelve and read The Halfblood Prince.

"Mm-hmm." Jacom hummed around a mouthful of pickles.

"The people of Harry Potter were made into Everafters rather more quickly than most." Philip said stiffly. Sabrina wondered absently if he was ever informal. "The tremendous amount of sheer belief from the readers rendered them Everafter within a few months of the Seventh book's release."

"Is that how it works?" Sabrina asked. "That's how you become an Everafter?"

"Not really." Jacob shook his head. "There's a council of Everafters and select humans who review all the most popular tales and research them. For example, the characters of Twilight never existed, so despite the widespread popularity, they could never become Everafters. But, if the belief in their existence was strong enough, they could be more or less created out of sheer demand. It's like Peter Pan. Whenever someone says they don't believe in the fairies, one of them dies."

"Hate Peter Pan." Puck muttered sullenly. "And technically, they're pixies."

"And if the tale passes their standards, the Council puts it in their book, enchanting the tale so that the characters live forever." Jake shrugged.

"But wouldn't that give them a ton of power?" Sabrina asked. "I mean, they could pick an R. L. Stine book, and one of the werewolves would just exist. They could create an army."

"That's why the Council gets cycled out every few years by election. Mustardseed's served. He was the one who made the deciding vote on the tale of Red Riding Hood." Puck explained. "Plus, the actual location of the book is a complete mystery. No one, and I do mean no one, knows where it is. The Council gets their collective minds wiped after traveling to get it, and it takes all of them to retrieve it. That way no one goes rogue and goes after it."

"So how much belief do you need to get 'created'?" She persisted.

"Almost worldwide veneration." Mustardseed put in. "It took Harry Potter a long time. Puck and I were already Fairies, so we had the lifespan needed even before Shakespeare used us. And we were parts of numerous stories before, building up the reserves. Technically, a Faerie's lifespan is only three thousand years. Not the six thousand of our parents."

"But sometimes the Council deems the actions of the story's characters to be great enough to be immortalized without waiting for years to see if it survives." Four adds.

"It's sort of complicated. And sometimes they set up a voting poll to decide." Jake nodded. "And even then, unless there's a really outstanding case for it, it can take years to be approved."

"Wow." Sabrina blinked.

"All the cast of William Shakespeare's tales came into existence. Well, except for those who died in them. They were all inspired by real accounts, so Macbeth was long dead before he was put into the book. That's why we have guards, too. They weren't named, but they were in the story along with everyone else."

"Yeah. So unless you're the greatest ever, you don't get in." Puck bit into his sandwich and added, "and even then, it can be debatable."

"Chew with your mouth closed, Majesty." Sabrina whacked him upside the head.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Hey, Mustardseed?" It was late that night, everyone returned to their rooms. Well, the additional guards had camped out in the bunkers, determined to find any faults before they move three dozen men into each of them. Mustardseed and Puck were both in their respective beds. It had been a long day of more or less ignoring each other, and it was exhausting.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry." Puck mumbled.

"I know. I am, too. I had no right to say any of those things."

"No, you were right."

"Maybe in some part. But not everything. I was… out of line."

"No, you weren't."

"Didn't Sabrina already tell you off for thinking that?" Mustardseed sat up in bed. "I know you went to her."

"How?" Puck asked.

"You always do." Mustardseed shrugged in the dark. "You listen to her opinion, and occasionally even take her advice. So do I."

"She talked to you, too?" A small twinge of jealousy pulled at Puck, but he pushed it away. Mustardseed had a girlfriend, one he was very obviously infatuated with.

"Don't be ridiculous. She likes you, you know." Mustardseed had read his thoughts. "And you like her. She just… Has a lot of wisdom to offer for someone who has only seventeen years of life. And she's irritated at both of us for being thick. She scolded me, too."

"Oh." Puck offered.

"I get to plan the wedding."

"What?" Puck spluttered, jerking upwards to stare at his brother. "Wedding?"

"Please." Puck could almost feel Mustardseed's eyes rolling. "You've been around for four thousand years. When's the last time you looked at a girl? Oh, right. Never. And she watches you. She probably doesn't realize it, but she does. She looks for you in a room, and when she finds you, she smiles. So don't tell me there won't be a wedding."

"You've been reading Jane Austen again." Puck accused. His face was flaming. Sabrina liked him? "She's seventeen. That's a lot younger than it was two thousand years ago. She doesn't need to make up her mind now, and she won't."

"I like Jane Austen. Fanny Price is a good character, and a lot like Rapunzel. And Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy were perfect for each other."

"I cannot believe we're having this discussion." Puck flopped back down. Sabrina liked him?

"Then don't. Just agree to let me plan the wedding."

"Fine. Whatever. Just don't make it too girly."

"I would never dream of it." Mustardseed yawned.

~Sisters Grimm~

 **I love the feeling of a chapter being written. And over three thousand words of pure plot set up!**

 **Someone review and tell me how much they loved the part about the process of becoming an Everafter. No, seriously. Do you know how much thought I put into that scene alone? I really didn't like that part about the series. Michael Buckley never said how you got to be an Everafter unless you were written in the book, and that an author dwelled within. Well, bull. How does the Author know what's going on? What happens if someone kills him? And how does he decide that you're worthy of being put in the book? Also, do you need special permission? Because Canis kinda just wrote whatever he wanted. And that is an amazing power to hold. So I gave the power to someone else.**

 **Also, Puckabrina! Oh, how I've missed writing it. Just like the war, this has slowly been built up. So let's see where that goes, shall we?**

 **Anyway, here's the only reason you put up with my babbling: Review Replies!**

 **LavendarMoonRose: Well, I keep changing the title and the summary. Which is probably not a wise thing to do, but so what? I like to do it. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, though.**

 **Guest: I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it so much! I love to write, so you'll probably see more from me anyway.**

 **Anyway, I have to go. Be kind and drop a line, yeah?**

 **'** **Til next time!**

 **-The Irish Lass**


	19. Chapter 19

"The deliveries are supposed to begin today." Sabrina noted. It was the next morning, and Jacom and Four were downing coffee as if though they had never before gone a day without it. They had eaten pancakes, easily mixed up from the box left behind. Sabrina was looking forward to Momma's arrival. Then maybe someone else would cook and she could practice some hand to hand with Puck. She hadn't had time to take a lesson in a while, and he hadn't had time to give her one.

She glanced over at the Faerie, noting the bags under his eyes. Had he stayed up all night planning his war? She hoped not. But at least he and Mustardseed seemed to be getting along better, she noted with relief. They must have apologized to each other. Good. She had hoped they would.

Puck had in fact stayed up all night turning over the idea that Sabrina might like him. Could she? Because it would seriously rock if she did, but what if she didn't? What if Mustardseed was wrong, and Puck was just being an idiot? What if Sabrina really didn't like him at all, except as a friend? What then?

But right now, as he scarfed down warm pancakes, he could have kissed her. Because food? Food was way better than feelings, any day of the year. Or was the saying any day of the week?

"Yeah. Soldiers within the week, too." Jake nodded, distracting Puck from his merry-go-round of thoughts.

"Yay. More newbies to train." He grumbled, then he lit up. "Do you think I can make them do a hundred pushups in a day?"

"I think that you shouldn't if you still want soldiers at the end of it." Sabrina grinned. Puck had only slowly edged her training up, careful not to make her cry again. He still hadn't forgotten the day she had just sat down and bawled, all because he told her she could have a day off. Seriously. Girls' minds were weird places.

"And the wizards." Mustardseed chimed in. "We can get the building started."

"Can a wizard build a house with just mental power?" Sabrina asked.

"Sort of." Mustardseed shrugged. "The process is actually complicated. No one wanted just anyone to become a wizard afterall."

"You have to have the physical ability to build the house, most of the time. Wizards and witches are really different." Jake shrugged. "A wizard's magic demands that he be able to actually carry out most of his work. If he were to summon water, he must also have the ability to carry a bucket."

"That's not very useful." Sabrina noted.

"Not when Jake puts it like that. And not all wizards' spells have the same requirements. It does require an incredible amount of concentration, though, so if you see one working, you had better leave him alone, or risk getting hit by a log." Mustardseed explained. "A witch has more creativity, generally. They can picture it, and it happens. They usually do it with their minds. Sort of like mind over matter. They train differently. It takes longer to become a witch than it does a wizard though, because witches need to be more disciplined. Their power is greater, so their control of it must be too."

"And no one can create something out of nothing. Cinderella's dress was made out of rags, and it was pretty temporary. To make something that lasts any length of time? That takes time and energy."

"So why not build everything just by hand?" Sabrina asked.

"Magic takes less time, and less people. Plus, it makes a cool party trick." Puck grinned at her. Herr hair was bush this morning, the rain pounding outside adding humidity to make it frizz out more. She looked hilarious. And sort of cute.

"And we need to start planning where to put our generals, Puck." Mustardseed redirected his brother's attention. As much as he loved whatever was going on between these two, work had to be done first. "They're not all going to get along."

"Then make them run laps until their legs collapse underneath them. They'll figure out their differences pretty quick." Puck waved a dismissive hand as he crammed more pancakes into his mouth.

"Or they'll throw a fit and leave."

"It's war. They'll have bigger things to concentrate on than their bruised egos." Puck protested.

"Have you ever met William Charming?"

"Point. We'll put him and his wife in one of the bedrooms, and chuck them in the bunkers later when we have too many wounded, yeah? And then you and I will join them, and it'll be a lot of fun not killing each other."

Philip snorted into his tea.

"Yeah, laugh it up. When I'm kicked out of my nice squashy bed, you're going down with me." Puck jabbed a finger at the head of the guard.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Majesty."

"Of course you wouldn't."

Outside, a horn blew. "Must be the first load. Everybody who's not doing clean-up, go out and help unload." Jake directed.

"Wait, who's doing wash-up?" Alev asked.

"Not it!" Puck sprinted out of the room, the last pancake stuffed in his hoodie pocket. He'd rather carry everything in the truck than wash that stove.

Alev, because he was the one who suggested clean-up, ended up doing said chore. The truck waiting outside was an impressive eighteen wheeler, and Sabrina's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"You do realize we don't have anywhere to put this yet, right?" She asked.

"Sure we do." Jake grinned. "Mack here's a wizard. He can start on the building project."

"Aye, lassie." Mack smiled at her. "That I am, and I expect backup to be here soon. Care to lead me around and show me the fine camp I've volunteered to live in?"

"No. She's not our secretary." Puck pushed between them. "She's here to learn. Kel will be your guide. Sabrina's going to-" What could she do?

"Go practice some hand-to-hand." Sabrina grasped his bicep tugged him backwards. "Sorry, I wish I could, but I'm getting rusty, and someone has to kick this one's butt. C'mon, Puck." She pulled him towards the horse padlock, which Puck had almost immediately appropriated as training ground.

"What's wrong with you? He's harmless." She demanded as soon as they were out of earshot. "He wasn't going to do anything."

"This is going to be a camp full to the brim of soldiers, Grimm. Either they see you as someone to protect at all costs, or they see you as weak. You're a human, and it's either one or the other." Puck's mouth was set tight. "If they see you respected and protected, they'll do the same. This isn't my first war, Grimm."

"I know that." Sabrina hissed. "And believe me, I'm not defenseless, okay? I can take out most people by now."

That, Puck was willing to admit, was probably true. He hadn't taught her the traditional style of fighting, but more of a dirty street type. Effective, but useless against magic. "Yeah, well, don't invite danger, okay?" He huffed a sigh. "I didn't really get the creep vibe from him, okay?" He didn't. Mack was an old friend of the throne. "But he's one of the first here, so a lot of others are going to listen to him. So just follow my lead, okay?"

"Do you think that I'm in danger here?" She demanded.

"No." He would protect her if she couldn't.

"And do you think Mack's going to hurt me?"

"No." The truth was easy. He wasn't afraid of Mack. He had known Mack for years, and he'd never hurt an innocent. "But I want him to make sure no one else does, either."

"Well, that's noble of you." Sabrina nodded. "And thanks. But I can handle myself, okay? And I'd handle myself better if we could get some practice done."

"You mean, if you could get some practice." Puck grinned.

"Whatever, Fairy Boy. Let's just get started."

~Sisters Grimm~

More trucks came in throughout the afternoon, some carrying food, others weapons, and one that Sabrina was not allowed to go within fifty feet of.

"Magic." Puck shrugged. "You really don't want to be near this Mojo, Grimm. It's pretty powerful."

Sabrina didn't mention that she could feel the siren's call of magic radiating from the vehicle without his explanation. There must be something tremendously potent in there. She itched to run away from it, images of the immense power she could yield chasing themselves through her head. She could steal whatever it was away in the blink of an eye, put an end to this war, regain her family…

Sabrina didn't fight the urge to run away anymore. The temptation was too much to ignore for much longer.

Which was how she found herself helping Four to assemble bunk beds.

"Ah dinnae like magic." The dwarf explained. "It steals away the work of honest folks and gives too much influence to those who would be far better off without it."

Four told her stories of the old Faerie, of his own origin, and his family. "Aye, there be seven of us, in all. And an adopted sister, a wee slip of a thing."

"Snow White?" Sabrina asked.

"Aye, you may call her that. She prefers Snow Charming, though. Married that prig some years ago, and she was the best thing to ever grace that worthless man's life."

"Prince Charming was worthless?"

"His name is Charming, Lass, because he was not much of anything else." Four sniffed. "Remember that when you name your own children."

"But Puck said that he was going to be one of the lead generals?"

"Ah did say that Snow reformed the scoundrel, did I not?" Four reminded her. "And dinnae go repeating this to anyone. He is a pompous, proud man, but generally what we have need of. He cannot be described as a coward."

That, Sabrina thought, was a good thing. She had no idea what she was doing in this camp, or why she had come ahead of the rest of the Faerie court with Puck and Mustardseed. She suspected that it could be seen as favoritism, which it probably was. She was at a loss here.

Puck and Mustardseed were generals, fighters who had been learning the art since infancy. She had no doubt that most of the army would have centuries, or at the very least, decades of experience with war. Meanwhile, in the midst of all these powerful, magical creatures, here she was. Alone. Barely trained. And completely unmagical. Fragilely human, surrounded by the elite.

Sabrina knew she was being melodramatic. She wasn't useless. But it was hard not to feel alone without her mother's grin, or her father's terrible jokes.

~Sisters Grimm~

"We need something for Grimm to do." Puck and Mustardseed were going over the lists and notes for the day, checking over twice to make thing that everything was obtained before soldiers could begin arriving.

"I agree." Mustardseed nodded. "I suggest that she become-"

"You're not making her into your secretary." Puck interrupted him.

"I wasn't planning to." Mustardseed replied evenly. "She needs something a little more important. I suggest we put her in charge of keeping the peace."

Puck laughed. "Grimm is about as far from diplomatic as you can get."

"No, that would be you." Mustardseed fixed his king with a glare. "As a matter of fact, she has a habit of listening to both sides of the story."

"Before or after she pounds their heads in for being idiots?" Puck chortled. He got the sudden image of a group of cowering trolls admitting to the tiny blonde human that they broke a chair fighting, and dissolved into giggles.

"Usually after." Mustardseed admitted. "But it would be suitably important, but without the type of authority that could cause friction with our older allies."

"I guess so."

"Besides, she's just what the men need. Not totally unsympathetic, but far from lenient at the same time."

"We should get her to sit in on the war council meetings, too." Puck nodded. "She needs to learn something out of this."

"You mean you don't like to leave her alone in a camp full of rough soldiers." Mustardseed raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Do you?" Puck retorted, flushing.

"No. But I am willing to bet that she can take care of herself."

"Better safe than sorry."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina, much to Puck's surprise, did fit into the task that she was given with almost alarming ease.

No one seemed to actually see her end a fight, or really interfere at all. In fact, there was speculation that she had spies, she was so rarely involved, yet seeming to know every aspect of every quarrel. The bawlings out she gave became famous among the soldiers, wizard or not. Sometimes her shouting could be heard the whole way across camp, where Puck was leading yet another beginner fencing class.

"Sneak must have caught Davis and Joel fighting again." Alev remarked to Puck once.

"Sneak?" The king had asked. Sabrina? Sabrina wasn't sneaky. She announced her presence with a shout or a wave. She never snuck around. Then again, if she was really that sneaky, how would Puck know that? Maybe he just hadn't caught her yet.

"The Grimm girl, Your Majesty." Alev nodded. "No one ever sees her while they're fighting, but the fact remains that she knows everything about it. If it's not magic, it must be pure talent."

The nickname "Sneak" stuck. Once Sabrina heard of it, her only offense to it was that she was not given higher status. It was amended quickly to "Queen of Sneaks" by the soldiers, and remained an affectionate nickname for the small and authoritive human. Sabrina became almost a pet to them, her demand for respect forcing the invocation of 'almost'.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Where is my son?" Titiana swept into the house, several nervous attendants scurrying after her. "I demand to know why I was not greeted at the gate as I deserve."

The war council was convened in the dining room, the only room with a table large enough to seat the whole of the group without setting up what Sabrina called "the kiddie table". Heads turned to stare at the rampant queen, who was obviously enraged at the complete lack of respect.

William Charming stood up, bowing to Titiana. "Your Highness, we were not-"

"Did I ask you to speak?" Titiana's eyes flashed fire at the prince, causing him to sit back down abruptly.

"Mother, I didn't realize you were coming today. I thought it was tomorrow." Puck stood. Mustardseed rose with him, folding his hands behind his back as he awaited the upbraiding they were certain to receive.

"It was." Sabrina was rifling through Mustardseed's calendar. "Your Highness is a day earlier than expected."

"I see." The rage cleared from Titiana's eyes, and she seated herself, drawing her skirts up. "Then I want to know your plans."

"Mother-"

"Do not take that tone." The fire was back. "I have seen more struggles than you, I know what I am looking for."

"She's probably right." Sabrina added when Puck hesitated. Why was she inserting herself into family matters? She shouldn't put herself in Titiana's range of fire. "She has been around for thousands of years."

"So have I!" Puck bleated.

"Hm. Haven't gained much common sense though, have you?" Sabrina asked, tilting her head at him. Ah. That was why. To pick on Puck.

Charming coughed. "If we could return to the situation at hand? You may continue your flirting later."

Sabrina felt heat rising in her face, even as she watched Puck turned red.

"The Trickster King does not flirt." He huffed indignantly.

Several snorts were heard. Sabrina ducked her head. Puck turned several shades darker.

"Then there is nothing to continue disrupting our plans." Charming nodded, as if in agreement. Puck caught a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. Sabrina was still staring at her hands, mortified.

"Then there is nothing to continue disrupting our plans." Charming nodded, as if in agreement. Puck caught a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. Sabrina was still staring at her hands, mortified.

"The Scarlet Hand's attacks in New York have ceased." Titiana reported. "It is once more only the humans wreaking havoc on one another with their drugs and money."

"That is true. The Hand's attacks have stopped. Which means we have no clue where they are." Snow Charming agreed. "They could have followed us."

"Or they could be in Faerie." Sabrina suggested. "I mean, the palace isn't entirely cleared out, is it? What if they're busy searching for anything left? Or they think they were successful in overthrowing the royal family?"

"A good point." Arthur Pendragon stroked his beard, crown glittering in the lamp light. "But I don't believe they could be foolish enough to believe that. The Faerie royalty has been the backbone of the Everafter community for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. They could not be so easily overthrown by a few paltry attacks, and surely their leader must recognize that."

"They could be searching Faerie, though. She's right about that." Charlie Weasley idly spun his wand around his fingers. "That would be my first move. If all the enemy suddenly up and left, or at the very least, made a very good impression of it, I would confirm it."

"They won't find anything." Mustardseed added. "We already transported everything of any use here, and emptied out the treasury to a more secure location."

"The more dangerous occupants of the castle, they're en route, yes?" Beast's rumbling growl spoke out. "I would not care to find them in someone else's possession."

"And you think they don't feel the same?" Four added his two cents. "Ah would do everything possible to capture them, if Ah were to be in charge."

"We have received the afternoon update from the transporters already." Mustardseed confirmed. "They believe they are undiscovered, and will remain so. The Jabberwocky gave them some trouble, but quieted with the help of another inmate."

"And we expect more soldiers to arrive tomorrow. Including Relda Grimm." Jake's grin threatened to split his face. "Mom's gonna bring everything in her arsenal, and you know as well as I do that that's a lot of mojo."

"Mom?" Sabrina repeated.

"Yeah, your grandmother is headed out."

"And thank the sages and spirits for that." Charming agreed. "Relda Grimm is a fearsome ally, and a worse enemy."

~Sisters Grimm~

 **Well, I'm back. And I'm on** ** _fire!_**

 **No, not literally. You can put away the fire extinguishers.**

 **But I** ** _did_** **write the past two chapters in a week. So there's that.**

 **Anyway, things are heating up in this fic, so let's see where we're going. Don't worry, I have an outline. I have a vague sense of where we're going. But these characters keep making twisting turns and changing it.**

 **Anyway, here are your review replies!**

 **LavenderMoonRose: I loved putting in Harry Potter. I really wanted more of the Weasleys.**

 **RavenMoon33: I really like writing Mustardseed. He's an amazing character, and I wanted to put him in so much.**

 **Marijee8771: I know, right? I love the brothers.**

 **AubergineSnowdrop: Charlie Weasley actually isn't going to be a tremendous part. I just really wanted to put in a part about how stories grow into immortal characters. Sorry!**

 **I already pmed quillandspindle in reponse to her review, but she gets a shout-out for reviewing! No review goes ignored.**

 **Okay, So I have to get back to work.**

 **'** **Til next time!**

 **-The Irish Lass**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Sabrina trapped Jacob while he was sorting magic charms. They emitted a low level thrum, just enough to set her blood tingling, but not enough to make it hard to keep from touching them. "So… Grandma?"

Jacob looked up, one pendant held between his fingers. "Yeah." He nodded.

"You didn't tell me she was coming." _You didn't tell me that more of my family was alive._

"No."

"Why?"

Jacob leaned back in his chair, sweeping a hand through his hair. "I didn't know that she was going to until yesterday. I mean, she is almost seventy years old, and she's got a life of her own."

"Don't we all?"

"You're mad at me." Jake noted.

"Well, duh." Sabrina rolled her eyes. "I would have liked to know that my grandmother was coming before that meeting."

"Yeah, I should have told you. But Sabrina, you have to understand… I haven't seen her since Dad's death." Guilt warred with grief in his eyes. "How do you think I feel?"

"I would hope that you feel selfish and sort of immature." Sabrina pulled herself up to sit on the desk. "I mean, it's been what, twenty years? I think your mom would have forgiven you by now. She _is_ your mom. That's kind of what they do."

"It's been nineteen years." Jake sighed softly.

"Well, then the only thing she'll have to forgive is your stupidity." Sabrina nodded confidently. She was quiet for a moment, then, "What's Grandma like?"

Jake grinned, the guilt and grief lost to remembrance. "She's amazing. Mom's German. She and Dad met while he was touring the world, and she never lets anyone forget that we're the descendants of some of the best and brightest. She always expected great things from all of us, Dad included. Failure wasn't an answer for her. If you couldn't do it the first time, you tried again until you got it." He stopped. "You're a lot like her for that."

Sabrina grinned. "And?"

"I'm getting there." Jake flapped a hand at her. "She makes all sorts of weird food. And I mean seriously weird. Henry and I could never figure out where she got the ingredients for most of it. She loves and forgives easily, but her trust is harder to earn. And she collects magical items, as sort of a hobby. She doesn't use it unless there's no other option, but she's not afraid of it."

"She sounds amazing."

"You'll love her." Jake grinned.

~Sisters Grimm~

Relda Grimm arrived in a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle, rust around the edges and evidently not cared for as it should have been. A skinny, tall man with wild grey hair and eyes drove, carefully parking the sunny colored car between two hulking trucks.

Relda was shorter than Sabrina's own diminutive five foot two, and a pleasant type of plump, gray streaked red hair pulled up into a bun under her enormous straw hat, which was bedecked with a somewhat faded fabric sunflower. Glasses hung on a chain around her neck, her cheeks rosy and plump.

"Hello, everyone!" She waved as she rounded the car, taking the man's arm and pulling him with her. "It is so good to see you all after so long. For those of you who don't know, I'm Relda Grimm, and this is my extremely patient friend, Mr. Canis."

Puck reached out a hand to shake her own, but found himself instead pulled into a hug. "Oh, dear, how you have grown." Relda held him out at arms-length and smiled brilliantly at him. "The last time I saw you, you were only a child."

"I haven't been a child in four thousand years, Granny. You know that." Puck grinned impishly at her.

"Oh, you know what I mean, liebling. You certainly picked a fine time to grow up, I will say." Her eyes twinkled.

"Grow up? Never." Puck was still grinning. "Wanna meet some people?"

"Don't I always?"

"This is Mustardseed." Puck led her to his brother. "He's serious. And a stick in the mud."

"Someone has to pick up the slack." Mustardseed smiled at Relda, clasping her hand warmly.

"Oh, I can tell." She laughed, and reached up to smooth his face with her wrinkled hand. "You're a brave one, aren't you?" She mused. "You will hold up to the task given to you, I assume?"

"I can only hope." The prince bowed.

"No, you can only do."

"True enough."

"And this is William Charming, and his wife, Snow."

"You know we've already met." Relda laughed, and reached out to hug the two Everafters. "It's been a long time."

"It always is." Snow nodded.

"And-" Puck didn't need to go any further. Relda immediately recognized the man in front of her.

"Jake!" Relda threw her arms around her son. "Liebling." She whispered, pulling her son into a tighter hug.

"Mom." Jake returned the hug, curling inwards around his mother, shoulders shaking. Around them, some Everafters shifted uncomfortably, but no one said anything.

"Enough of that." Relda reached up with a handkerchief and wiped the tears off his face a few minutes later. "It is good to see you again. I missed you more than I can tell you."

"I didn't know you wanted me back." Jake admitted.

"I thought I raised you to be smarter than that." Relda's eyes were shining.

"There's someone else to meet." Puck pulled her away from her son and directed her to Sabrina. "This is Sabrina Grimm, Henry's daughter."

"Hi." Sabrina waved lamely.

"Sabrina?" Relda touched her arm. "Oh, you do look like Basil."

"My brother?"

"Your brother is named Basill?"

"Yeah… Dad said it was a family name." Sabrina nodded.

"Basil was my husband." Relda smiled.

"Didn't you know?" Sabrina asked.

"Oh, liebling. When Henry left, he cut all ties. I didn't know you weren't the only one." Relda combed her fingers through Sabrina's hair as if though she couldn't believe Sabrina was really there.

"I'm not. Daphne and Basil are my brother and sister."

"A sister!" Relda finally pulled Sabrina into a hug. It was all softness and warmth, just like Sabrina had always a grandmother's hug would be. "Oh, child. You must tell me more."

~Sisters Grimm~

Relda was affectionate to everyone, no matter what their position was. She pulled Mr. Canis along with her wherever she went, leaving someone else to empty the trunk of her car and take everything up to her room. She greeted incoming soldiers by name and introduced herself to whoever she didn't know.

"So that's where Daphne gets it." Sabrina murmured to Puck as they watch the old woman flit through the camp.

"I guess." Puck shrugged. He was actively avoiding the house, and his mother, instead writing up a training regime. He wasn't doing much writing, though. He kept catching himself watching Sabrina.

"Oh, c'mon. You don't see it? It's practically blinding it's so obvious." Sabrina snorted. She was cleaning equipment, a sword in her hand as she drew a stone over the edge. The soft _shhink_ was calming as it honed the edge. It reminded Puck of something he had been meaning to do. And now, when there was important paperwork that needed his attention, it was the perfect time to get it done.

"Say, do you have a sword?" He asked suddenly.

"Yeah." Sabrina nodded. "A practice one, anyway." She amended. It wasn't sharp, mostly meant to give the student an idea of how a real one felt but without endangering the opponent.

"That's not going to work." Puck shook his head. "It's not going to do much damage."

"It's a steel rod." Sabrina grinned. "I can put a pretty good beating on someone with a steel rod."

"Yeah, well, come on. It's not going to be a great idea if you're up against a wall." He strode off decisively towards the newly constructed weapons house, ignoring the construction going on a quarter mile away. The wizards were finally building the prison, since the creatures were due in two days. The separate cages were slowly coming together, fused together with enchantments and wards. Sabrina wondered what would happen if she touched the walls. Would she feel the magic thrumming under her fingers? Or would it be muted, the work already done?

"Grimm! Enough gawking." Puck shouted, and Sabrina tore away to hurry after him.

"Why's it so far away?" She asked.

"Why's what so far away?" Puck asked, pulling the door open and ushering her into the cabin.

"The prison."

"Well, you don't want it next to the weapons, do you? And you don't want it anywhere near the magic." He led her towards the sword racks. "Plus, those things can get pretty loud."

"Yeah, but won't it be harder to keep an eye on them from here?"

"We're not taking chances or cutting corners." Puck wanted to remind her that he had been doing this far longer than she had. She was barely a child next to him, her inexperience less than nothing next to his millennia of years of life. Instead, he continued. "There's going to be a guard posted at all times, a magical barrier surrounding it, and communication between it and us."

"Oh." Sabrina nodded.

"We're not new to this."

"Well, I am." Sabrina's temper flared. "I don't know where to turn or what to do, and-"

"And I do." Puck finished calmly for her. "You're learning, Grimm. It's not always a bad thing."

"I'm not very useful here." Sabrina sighed, reaching out to the blades. She took one off the rack and twirled it for a moment, frowned, and put it back. "You're old. Like thousands of years. And everyone else is extremely powerful, and here's a human, caught up in the middle of it."

Puck leaned against the wall. Watched as she took down another sword, this one closer to a French rapier. "Most of them started out as humans." He pointed out. "And your grip's wrong."

"I know that." Sabrina huffed, putting it back.

"It's not a bad thing, being human."

"Of course you can say that." She replied without heat, unsheathing a more traditional sword, one that would allow her to swing it double-handed. "You're powerful."

"So's this guy we're fighting." Puck shrugged. "It levels the playing field some."

Sabrina nodded. "Get back?" She requested, sword held loosely in one hand. "I think I like this one."

"Seriously, Grimm.' Puck stepped back as Sabrina swung the sword in a neat figure-eight. "They won't be expecting people like you. Everafters tend to hold onto old customs. There's a reason we still fight with swords. Humans don't. You adapt."

Sabrina nodded, lunging forwards, before swinging the sword to the left. She grinned. "I like this one."

Taking it as a cue that the conversation was over, Puck reached out to take it from her. "Huh." It was light, surprisingly well-balanced. The plain leather grip was softened with years of use, but the blade was perfect.

"That's probably your best bet." He handed it back.

"Duel?" Sabrina grinned at him.

"Loser tells me I'm awesome." Puck retorted, snatching a huge Scottish double-blade from the rack.

"You're too confident." Sabrina snorted, bringing her sword up in the classic defense position.

"I'm not going to lose." Puck smirked, swinging the giant sword towards her midsection. She blocked, pushing back and skipping out of range.

"Not gonna work." Puck shook his head, swinging upwards in a long chopping motion. "Yours is shorter range."

"Not going to be able to block all the time either." Sabrina whirled, hair swinging as she darted under his guard and thrust upwards.

"True. Evasion." Puck directed as she rolled away, coming up behind him momentarily, but he was too fast.

Eventually, it ended with Puck as the winner, tip of the long blade he held touching Sabrina's chest.

"Ha-ha!" He crowed. "Can't beat me yet."

"Of course she can't." A new voice drawled from the doorway. A small group had assembled to watch the two blonds fight. Sabrina blushed as she realized that they had seen her lose.

Charming strode forward, and held his hand out for Sabrina's sword. "Give it to me." He commanded.

"Get your own." She retorted, handing it to him.

"Believe me, I have one. And I'll warrant that it's a sight better than this." Charming sneered.

"You wouldn't have lasted as long against Puck, though." Jake shrugged. "You're too proud to use the same methods Sabrina did."

"Nonsense." Charming shook his head. "Anyone who is too proud to use whatever tactics might save his life is a fool and dies early."

"Well, you wouldn't have anyway." Puck shook himself out, replacing his sword. "You're good, but you have more weight to throw around than she does. She's faster, which is a big advantage next to someone like me."

"That's true." Charming acknowledged. "You do have the strength lent to Faeries."

"It's amazing that Sabrina managed to last long at all." Snow added. "Puck's got thousands of years of experience on his side."

"He's been teaching me for almost a year." Sabrina explained.

"A year is hardly long enough to gain any sort of mastery." Charming shook his head. "You are either extremely talented, or he was being soft on you. And, knowing our fearless leader, I highly doubt he was being soft on you."

Sabrina blinked. "I lose every fight, though."

"Who else have you fought?" Jake asked.

"Just Puck." She admitted.

"That would be why." Charming handed the sword back, and drew his own from his hip. "Let us see how you do against someone who has a fraction of the experience."

The second fight was longer than the first, Charming finally ending it by calling a stalemate, both opponents' swords touching the other's chest.

He sheathed his sword and bowed to her. "If you had a few more years, I would be forced to call you a master." He commented. "But you are young yet, and no one knows how you will do in battle, so for now you remain an untested but talented student."

"Battle is different." Snow agreed. "But you seem to have picked it up almost extraordinarily fast."

"Don't hold back." Charming waved his wife's words aside. "She deserves recognition. To have only a year of work next to my two hundred? She is certainly gifted. I am glad she is on our side."

Mustardseed nodded. "Very few are gifted as you are." He told Sabrina. "I've met only a handful in my lifetime. Some of it must be attributed to Puck's lessons. He was calling out instructions to you as you dueled, after all, but your unceasing work is part of it, too."

"In other words, don't get cocky." Puck nodded. "There's always going to be someone better than you, and you never know when you might meet him."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina, Jake, and Relda spent a lot of the next few days together, learning more about their family. Jake recounted how he broke his nose, Relda told tales of her sons, and Sabrina introduced them to her missing family.

It made her even more desperate to get them back, however she could. No one knew anything about the missing Grimms, not even Mustardseed venturing theories about them as the time stretched forwards and they had yet to be heard of.

Around them, the camp kept growing. The prison was finished, and all the most powerful Everafters were called out to put the prisoners into their cages. Everyone else was ordered to get out of the way. The dragons and Jabberwocky were heard screaming from the house, and Sabrina shuddered. The thought that any of them might get out terrified her. When the entire group came back, dirt smudged and sweating, Mustardseed explained the magical barrier to her.

"There's no way for them to get out. They're completely trapped by their existence. The magic that flows through them keeps them in with only the nurses and the keepers." He said. Behind him, Puck was dumping a bucket of water over his own head, shaking out his thoroughly soaked hair.

"Nurses?" Sabrina asked, refusing to give the other Faerie the attention he wanted.

"Some of them are Everafters." Mustardseed nodded. "Little Red Riding Hood, The Mad Hatter, Bluebeard, and more are in there. Don't worry," He added, "they're treated well, probably better than they deserve. And they're kept entrapped the same way the beasts are."

A mess hall was constructed the next day, and Momma could be heard bellowing out orders to her assistant cooks. After a single disastrous meal of pink slime and green goo, Relda was no longer allowed into the kitchen, instead sent off to help in any way she could elsewhere.

The supply halls were completely full, food and weapons piling up in preparation.

The Bunk houses filled up, soldiers of all types and sizes filtering in. Pixies, two tigers, seemingly normal men, and more flooded the camp, bringing hope and spirit with them as they trained and worked together towards battle.

"But why?" Sabrina asked Puck one afternoon as they went over supply lists in the dining room. "Why are they here? Why fight at all?"

"Like we said before, Everafter wars are destructive. They tend to take a lot of power, and no one really knows what the enemy wants. Even if they're not fans of the present system, they don't really want to meet a new evil. Better the demon you know."

"Better the devil you know." Sabrina corrected.

"Whatever." Puck shrugged. "Some genuinely loyal to the crown. Others believe in the good they can do, but some just want a fight. War's never cut and dry, Grimm. Every man has his own reasons for fighting, and we can't explain each soldier's presence."

"But we don't know what the Scarlet Hand wants." Sabrina protested. "Maybe they have a better vision in mind. After all, no one knows whether or not that's true."

"So far, all they've managed to do is kill and cause destruction." Puck argued. He turned to face her, green eyes hard. "What do you think they want?"

"I don't know."

"I have a pretty good guess." Puck shook his head, crossing his arms. "They want complete control over all of us, human and Everafter. They'll kill and destroy and reform the entire world with America's military resources, and no one will be left standing."

"You're dark." Sabrina remarked.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" He challenged.

She stood, looking out of the doorway at the clear blue sky, the camp milling and trampling the grass as they rushed from one place to another in a mad dash to prepare everything before the inevitable could descend on them.

"No. No, I thing you're probably right." She admitted.

"Yeah, that's what scares me." Puck scowled. "For once, I'd rather you weren't agreeing with me."

~Sisters Grimm~

 **Heyho. I'm back already. I love Summer. Half the work as before, and more time to write. Love it.**

 **Anyway, they've been at camp for a while, not much going on. I'm beginning to think that this fic is going to be far longer than I had originally planned. I was thinking 25 chapters when I started, but here we are at 20, with no sign of the end. Geez. That's what happens when I try to make everything streamlined. The College Experience was kind of a mess of plot holes and unfinished ideas, but I think this one's a lot tighter. Which means it's longer. How many words have I written for this thing? A lot.**

 **Do I put this much effort into school essays? Not so much.**

 **Not much going on in my life. Next Sunday's my birthday, so we'll see if I can churn out an update (My mum's family is coming over for a campout/graduation party. Yeah, I managed to graduate. I'm surprised too.)**

 **Maybe, maybe not.**

 **Anyway, enough of my prattling. Here are your review replies!**

 **Marijee8771: Puck** ** _should_** **make some kind of move now, shouldn't he? But… Remember this: he's spent four thousand years without really looking at girls. He doesn't know how to keep going. It's really very easy for one of us to say that he should be making a move, but how do you think our poor little Faerie feels? I mean, it took him how many books to say he liked Sabrina? Plus, I really, really don't want to turn this into a mushy fic, where everything falls apart in the face of the romance. I'd much rather take it slow.**

 **LavenderMoonRose: Relda has been delivered into the fic, along with Mr. Canis. Enjoy!**

 **Omg: The flirting is cute, isn't it?**

 **RavenMoon33: I can't tell you how glad I am that you put that fire extinguisher down. Sorry about repeating that line twice, I'll try not to do it again. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **I mentioned it's my birthday next Sunday, right? Well… It's my eighteenth. I'm officially on my last week of being a kid. Bleh. Don't wanna be an adult with responsibilities.**

 **Anyway, I gotta go.**

 **'** **Til next time!**

 **-The Irish Lass**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

After a few weeks, it seemed as if the camp was finally settled. Almost everyone who was going to come had, and were settled into their routines. Puck took great delight in waking the entire place up with a single shout every morning, calling them all to their various duties of the day. The construction continued, now aided by the witches.

The wizards had managed to lay much of the ground work for the majority of the buildings, but it was the witches who assembled it. Directed by a team of architects, they placed beams and walls, carving windows with a single incantation.

A giant garage was built for all the vehicles, next to the stables, which were filled with battle-trained horses. A line up of trucks, cars, and motorcycles were carefully placed within, all inspected by a resident mechanic, who ensured that they were ready to move at the first sign of need.

This could only mean that it was time to start training.

Puck was almost demonically gleeful. If Sabrina had thought he was hard on her, she had no idea what he would do when faced with a whole group of people who had no idea what they were doing. Her lessons looked almost lazy compared to what the full-grown Everafters faced.

One of Puck's favorite practices was an obstacle course, set up with a mud pit, his disgusting grenades, hurdles, a jump rope, and a slick wall to climb.

"Bet you can't do it." Puck had smirked at her one day when she came out of the armory, arms piled with armor padding that needed put through the washing machine before it got up and walked itself there.

She raised an eyebrow at the course. "How much?"

"Let's say…" He paused, then nodded. "If you manage to get through in ten minutes, I'll stand up on the table at dinner and tell all the mud-monkeys that you're the most awesome person in the room."

"Fifteen minutes, and you're on."

"Thirteen, and not a second more, Grimm." He countered.

"Sure." Sabrina set the load of clothing down and stretched. "Start the clock… Now!"

She bolted, slogging through the thick mud, towards the minefield of grenades. She tripped, and fell face first, but kept going, dodging the undoubtedly horrible minefields by zig-zagging and leaping.

The hurdles were easily cleared with the help of a fallen and forgotten staff (the owner was sulking in the bath, having met the end of his short-lived run by stepping on and subsequently getting splattered by a horseradish and dog crap grenade) before she took a running leap at the wall, plastering herself to it with the sticky mud and scrambling upwards, only to leap off the top and into a filthy swimming pool.

"How long?" She resurfaced, treading water.

"Ten minutes, twenty-seven seconds." Snow read off her stop watch.

"Ha-ha!" Sabrina punched the air, grinning as she paddled to the end of the pool. "You owe me!" She pointed at Puck.

"You look disgusting." He retorted sulkily as she heaved herself out of the brown water and wrung out her hair

She grinned, ignoring the mud smudged across her face and her now brown hair. "You're trying to get out of it."

"You're more dirt than person." He retorted.

"And yet, I'm more awesome than you." She pushed her dirty hair out of her face. "I have to get back to work. Hey, Snow? Don't let him pout all day." She grinned as she made her way back to the laundry waiting for her.

~Sisters Grimm~

Puck did his sworn duty that night, standing up on the rough-hewn table, throwing his arms wide, and declaring Sabrina to be the most amazing person in the room. "But eleven others beat her time." He added. "So we have to honor them too, or else Mustardseed will have my head."

"Indeed." The younger Faerie nodded, sipping his tea.

The incident soon developed to honoring a resident every night. It would depend on Puck's mood who got it, though, and he proclaimed himself the greatest more often than not.

Titiana remained blissfully unaware of her son's crude behavior, tending to stay in her room much of the time, writing letters and organizing duty rosters. She was only seen once in a while, usually sweeping off to someplace. No one ever asked where to, terrified of her wrath.

Magical training was implemented, surprising Sabrina with the amount of Everafters who never came in contact with it.

"Seriously? They're magical beings and they've never so much as touched a wand?"

"Magic is harder to come by than you would think." Mustardseed replied. "It's usually hidden away pretty well, for fear that the humans might find it."

Jake grinned. "Of course, there are slip-ups. I found the wand of Merlin at a yard sale three years ago. But most people wouldn't have looked twice at it."

Some of the Everafters were clearly allergic to magic, although not on the same scale that Sabrina was. Puck wrote their names down on a list, and put it, along with a picture of each of them, next to the doorway of the magic storage. They weren't allowed in without a note, signed by Mustardseed.

As for Mustardseed, he mostly stayed in his office, venturing out for meals and meetings with various people. He was often seen walking through camp, clipboard and pen in hand, muttering under his breath as he scribbled notes and numbers.

One day, as he ventured past Puck's training arena, Puck shouted out to him. "Hey, Mustardseed!"

The prince changed direction and came over to his brother. "Yes?"

"I need to show these wimps how to fight with knives." Puck grinned, throwing a sheathed set to him. Mustardseed caught them in one hand, raising an eyebrow at his brother as he set down his paperwork on a stump.

"Seriously?" Mustardseed sighed, withdrawing the blades from their cases. They were long, with a thick, curved blade. Switchblades, then. Not his usual, but still… "You know I like daggers better."

"Yeah, yeah. Less talking, more action." Puck smirked, his own pair in hand. He twirled his wrists, setting the blades tightly in his closed fists.

"I hate you." Mustardseed grumbled, sliding into position and raising his own knives.

It was a long match. Puck was used to longer range weapons, his reach usually extended a good two or three feet from his arm. Mustardseed had trained for a long time with shorter weapons, which were more easily concealed under ornate ceremonial clothing. While he had never really mastered swordsmanship the way his brother had, he had attempted to make up for it by learning with stealthier weapons. They suited him better.

"Come on, little brother, is that the best you can do?" Puck goaded him on, jumping back to avoid Mustardseed's swipe as the younger prince attempted to break through his brother's guard. Puck had always had a better offense than defense, and if he managed to break through it, he'd win.

"Certainly not. I'm simply going easy on you." He replied, neatly divesting Puck of one of the knives, before lunging forwards, only to pause, the blade of his knife an inch from Puck's hoodie. "I think the identity of the winner of this match is obvious enough."

"Pretty good. But look behind you." Puck smirked, unconcerned by the blade hovering over his heart.

"That trick worked once, two thousand years ago." Mustardseed snorted, stepping back to free him.

"Can't blame me for trying." Puck shrugged, grinning.

"But I can call you an idiot for it." Mustardseed snorted, inspecting the sharpened edges for nicks. There weren't any, so he wiped them off on his pant leg and set the blades back into their sheathes. "Now I have to get back to work, if you don't mind." He bent over to pick up his clip board. "Your defense could use some practice." He shouted over his shoulder as he strode away. "It's getting worse."

~Sisters Grimm~

"I brought something with me." Relda stood at the beginning of the next Council meeting. "I believe you may find it useful."

Mr. Canis trudged into the room, a sheet covered object tucked carefully under one arm. He set it down in the corner, and pulled the sheet off to reveal an antique mirror.

"It's a magic mirror." Snow breathed.

"It's extremely helpful." Relda agreed. "It has more magic in it than even I know, and I've had some years to explore its contents."

"And we can't use it." Mustardseed stood up. "We know the Scarlet Hand is using a magic mirror, and that there are ways for the guardian to contact the outside world."

"I promise you, this one is trustworthy." Relda attempted.

"No." Puck shook his head, rising to stand beside his brother. "We can't take the risk. Thank you for your thought, but it would be an unnecessary risk to take such a risk."

Relda nodded, draping the sheet back over the mirror. "You would know better than I. I believe I shall return it to my room, if there is no need for it here."

"That would be best." Puck nodded.

The meeting continued, Four reading a list of the soldiers' complaints. Sabrina tuned him out, instead thinking about the weapon they weren't supposed to use.

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina glanced around the hall, checking to make sure she was alone, before sliding the door to her grandmother's room open and slipping in. She tugged the door shut behind her.

The mirror rested against the wall, still covered with the sheet. Sabrina stepped forwards hesitantly. This wasn't something she was supposed to be doing, after all. She shouldn't be snooping into people's private property, especially whenever the object in question was a known threat that the two head generals had both banned immediately.

But… She was curious. She wanted to know what was so dangerous. And the part about being a separate dimension? That couldn't be true, could it? A small voice in the back of her head whispered that curiosity had killed the cat. She ignored it.

"WHO GOES THERE?" A voice, deep throated and outraged, demanded from the mirror. Sabrina yelped and jumped backwards, away from the threat. "WHO DARES TO DISTURB ME?"

Sabrina licked her lips nervously, and started forwards again. "Um… Me. Uh, Sabrina." That was a stupid thing to say. How could he know who she was? Her name was useless to him.

"Is that name supposed to mean something to me?" The voice demanded, but it was more quiet this time, more amused and less threatening. That was… reassuring.

Heartened, Sabrina stepped closer. "I guess not."

"You don't sound all that important." The owner of the voice chuckled. Sabrina crouched down and lifted the sheet up.

A bodiless head stared back at her from the depths of the mirror, a storm brewing around behind him. Lightening flickered, shining against the bald surface of his head. "I'm not. Not really." Sabrina nodded. "Just wrong place, wrong time."

"Well, I can't say that my own worth is very high, either. My name is Mirror." Whatever the head was, it was smiled at her. "Will you come in? It's always awkward to meet people when I can't shake their hands."

"I can't go into a mirror." Sabrina snorted. Was it- he -mad? She wasn't an Everafter. There was no way for her to simply walk through glass. She didn't even know of any Everafter that could do that, come to think of it.

"Sure you can. I'll prove it. Touch the surface."

Sabrina hesitated.

"Oh, I don't bite." Mirror assured her. "And it won't hurt. Scout's honor."

Sabrina reached out, her hand flat to press against the glass. Instead, it reached through, with a sensation like pushing her hand into a waterfall: slight resistance and fluidity. Her mouth formed an "O" of surprise as she withdrew her hand, staring at it.

"Well, come on." Mirror was apparently getting impatient at her inability to understand.

Slowly, Sabrina stepped forwards, into the mirror. The feeling of stepping through was disconcerting as reality rippled around her, bending to change into a separate world, replacing a bedroom with a great hall of stone.

A short, balding man in a pinstripe suit greeted her on the other side. "Hello again." He smiled. He extended his hand to shake her's.

Sabrina gaped. An unending stone corridor stretched ahead of her, carved columns rising up thirty feet into the air over her head. Ornate doors stood between each set of arches, each with their own sign centered on it.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Mirror shoved his hands in his pockets, gazing at the ceiling. He didn't seem all that pleased by it. Then again, he had spent his whole life there. Of course it wasn't amazing to him.

"Yeah." Sabrina breathed. "Very." She took a step forwards, squinting into the distance in an effort to see the end of the hall. Mirror chuckled.

"There's more to it than this, you know." Mirror grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I can show you. It reaches on for… Well, miles. Even I don't know how far. But I have reached the end."

"Will you show me?" Sabrina asked. Amazing possibilities and wonder were open to her, a whole world to explore. A chance to learn more about Everafters and their world. She was going to take it.

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't willing to do it." Mirror smiled, ushering her forward into the corridor of wonder.

~Sisters Grimm~

After that, Sabrina found herself visiting Mirror almost daily, slipping away to talk with him when everyone was distracted. It was fairly easy at first. There was too much to be done for someone to keep an eye on an insignificant blonde teenager, after all. But the more she did it, the harder she found it to avoid Puck.

She doubted that he'd approve of her visits. She also ignored thee niggling feeling that he had a good reason to disapprove of her actions. If the two princes were right, and the Scarlet Hand was using a Magic Mirror, she couldn't trust Mirror. Not really.

At the same time, she knew it was impossible for Mirror to work for the Scarlet Hand. He was trapped, completely obscured from the world in his "Hall of Wonders". And, anyway, her grandmother had thought that he'd be a use to their cause. So she must trust him, too. And it wasn't like Sabrina was telling him anything important, just things about her missing family, or Puck's latest antics (she had woken up one morning to find all her socks all over the camp.)

So she wasn't doing any harm. She was just confiding in someone who would listen. That wasn't wrong, or harmful. She was safe. The camp and their effort against a war that was so slow in coming, was safe.

But if she was safe, the voice in her head whispered, why didn't she tell anyone what she was doing? Why didn't she tell Puck about everything tucked away in the Hall, and how it could be used to help the army?

He wouldn't understand. There was no way that he'd approve. So she didn't tell him.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Our intelligence officer thinks they've found the Scarlet Hand." Mustardseed announced at the beginning of the next meeting.

"He believes they're coming in on the West flank." Puck stated, tracing a path on a map. "As of now, they're thirty miles away."

"It doesn't sound as if though he's even certain it's them." Beast pointed out.

"It's a group of armed trolls, Goblins, and five witches." Mustardseed reported. "We've got no more expected fighters for the next three days, and they're supposed to be a group of the weaker Everafters."

"Goblins are not weaker Everafters. Obviously." Puck added. Goblins were twelve feet of green, oozing flesh, coupled with sagging guts and thickly muscled limbs.

"We can't say for certain yet that they're hostile, but it is a definite possibility." Mustardseed explained. "It is better to err on the side of caution, I believe."

"Besides," Sabrina pointed out, "The camp isn't fully enclosed yet. Wouldn't it be a bad idea to attack them if we're not prepared for a counter-attack."

"The human is right." Titiana agreed. "It would be more prudent to ensure that we remain safe than it would be to use valuable manpower to attack those who may not be hostile."

"So, what? We let them wander around aimlessly until they figure out where we are?" Four demanded. "No, Ah say we keep a close eye on them, and when they prove to be the enemy-"

"Then we strike." Derek agreed.

"Agreed. We'll keep a pixie squadron on them for now, and rely on their reports." Mustardseed scribbled a note out on his notebook.

Sabrina glanced at the council members. A few were frowning, but most at least seemed to be in agreement.

"However, it is likely to be the Scarlet Hand." Mustardseed continued.

"And if it is, we will attack." Puck was writing furiously in his own notebook. "Patrols should continue as usual."

"I disagree." Snow stated. "They ought to be increased, both in number and in size."

"She has a point." Charming stuck up loyally for his wife. "If we believe that the enemy is closing in, then we ought to take precautions so as not to be caught off guard."

"We don't want to cause alarm in the ranks." King Arthur was stroking his chin again.

Robin Hood snorted. "If our soldiers can be spooked so easily by something they knew they were signing up to fight, we wouldn't last a month." The green clad archer was tilted back on two legs of his chair, but now he sat forwards, letting all the legs thump against the floor. "It would be preferable to keep them informed, to show our trust in their strength." A few heads nodded in agreement with his words.

"Every hand is needed to complete the enclosure, though." Chicken Little clucked nervously.

Sabrina glanced at Puck. He was frowning, leaning forward to hear every opinion. He needed a haircut. His bangs were flopping in his face.

"There is an easy solution for that." Charlie Weasley proposed. "All the witches and Warlocks ought to be pulled from training for a few days to build your wall. A few days training doesn't make much difference, and it would solve your dilemma."

"We could use this as field training." Charming agreed. "And it wouldn't be completely a waste of manpower anyway."

"The Council is in agreement, then, that patrols should be increased?" Mustardseed asked.

"Agreed." Puck raised a hand. "Better safe than sorry."

"Famous last words." Someone muttered.

~Sisters Grimm~

"You're a Magic Mirror, right?" Sabrina asked Mirror the next time she visited him.

They were sitting in his favorite room, a library filled with squashy chairs and spell books. There was always a kettle of tea waiting for them on one of the little tables, and a fire in the grate. Sabrina had been visiting him for almost three weeks now.

"What clued you in, Starfish?" The little man's eyes crinkled in amusement.

"No, just, well… Can I ask to show me someone, and you will? Like in Snow White?"

"That is the story I'm from." Mirror nodded in agreement.

"Can I- Can you show my family?" Sabrina asked, hope flaring in her chest. She hadn't seen them in a year. She was beginning to forget things, like the shine of the sun on Basil's hair, or the way Daphne's teeth were slightly crooked, but not enough to be worth the effort of braces.

"Are you sure?" Mirror asked. "Are you certain you want to see them?"

"Absolutely." Sabrina nodded. Her heart felt squeezed, torn between dread and excitement. A year of not seeing them, a year away from them. She was desperate to find them.

"Alright, then. Close your eyes." Mirror reached out as she shut her eyes, and she felt his fingers touch her forehead.

Instantly, she saw them. It was like looking through a foggy window, the image slightly distorted and cloudy. There were two beds, Daphne and Basil lying peacefully side by side on one, her parents on the other. They all had their hands folded over their chests, and Sabrina could just make out their deep breathing before Mirror pulled away.

"They're alive!" She gasped. They were alive! Not only that, but they seemed healthy. There were no bruises or signs of ill-treatment. They were just sleeping. "Do you know where they are?" She demanded breathlessly, hopefully. "Can you tell me where they are?" She was so close. If only Mirror knew, she could have them back within days.

"Sorry, Starfish." Mirror shook his head regretfully. "My power doesn't extend that far, I'm afraid. I can only see them."

"Oh." Sabrina frowned, her euphorbia wearing off. "There's nothing you can do?" Her hope crashed in her stomach, leaving her with an ache in her chest.

"No." He looked regretful, and reached out to touch her hand. "But at least you know they're safe, right?"

"I guess." Sabrina nodded, tears welling in her eyes. They were so close, but so, so far away. It wasn't fair at all. "I have to go." She mumbled, looking down at her watch. She had been here for a half-hour. Any longer, and people would start to look for her.

"Of course." Mirror nodded. "Come back soon?"

She nodded, and managed a smile. "Sure. I'll bring a puzzle book or something, if you want."

"I'd love that." He smiled, leading her to the mirror frame. "It gets boring in here, you know."

"I'm sure it does." Sabrina nodded. She ducked out of the mirror, back into her Grandmother's room. Relda was almost never there, choosing instead to spend her time almost everywhere else.

She carefully shut the door behind her as she left, turning the lock and putting her hand against it to silence the thump as she pulled it closed. She turned around, ready to go back to her chores, and came face to face with the Faerie king, leaning up against the wall.

Sabrina yelped, and sprang backwards, knocking her back against the doorknob. **"** Ouch!" She yelped.

"So… You were in there an awful long time." Puck stated, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was being timed." Sabrina hissed.

"I was wondering where you were disappearing to every day." Puck shrugged. "Tell me you're not in that Mirror."

Sabrina felt the heat rising in her face and turned angrily away. She didn't owe him an explanation, and she certainly didn't have to answer him.

"Damn it. You are, aren't you?" Puck asked, falling step behind her.

"What if I am?" Sabrina asked. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"Well, for one, I'm going to change the lock on that door so that you can't get in. For another, I'm going to tell Relda. And for a third, if that doesn't stop you, I'm going to superglue a pixie to your head."

"Why?" Sabrina turned to face him. "What does it matter if I talk to him? He's lonely!"

"Everyone's lonely, Grimm." Puck reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "You know the risks. He could be part of the enemy. He could be feeding them any information that you drop, even if you do it accidentally."

"He's not like that, okay? He's a person, too. And he's trapped in a situation much worse than your's. He's trapped in that mirror until someone destroys it, and then he dies with it."

"Don't you think that would make him desperate to get out? Enough to promise his loyalty to some group of nut cases?"

"He showed me my family." Sabrina gripped Puck's arm. "They're alive."

"And that makes him trustworthy?"

"No." Sabrina shook her head. "But I like him. Can't he have a friend, too?"

"Not when he's on our top suspect list, no!"

"Well, I'm not going to stop visiting him." She jutted her chin out. "And if you'd trust him, you'd know he can help us defeat the Scarlet Hand."

"Or he can help destroy us." Puck shook his head. "I know betrayal, Grimm. And this guy? He fits the description of your typical traitor to a t."

"Maybe. But I'm going to believe him."

"I can't let you keep visiting him." Puck warned.

"And you can't stop me."

"Yeah, I sort of can."

~Sisters Grimm~

Hey, guys. I hope this was worth the wait.

Ohh… Fighting. Not a fan of that. What do you think is going to happen next? Stay tuned!

Anyway, review replies!

Guest: Yeah, Relda! She's awesome, isn't she? I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Quillandspindle: I'm glad you approve! I thought I'd start giving them all a little confusion and worry. And after a year of tutoring under Puck, who is widely acknowledged as one of the best, well, Sabrina ought to be good. I mean, the guy defeated a dragon with a wooden sword (Which is not talked about enough. I mean, it was over within minutes. How cool is Puck?).

FABULOUSGIRLFOREVER5555: I have a really hard time writing battle scenes, so I don't know that you'll get very many more of them. As for your kissing idea… Maybe later. I like it, and I might use it later. As for your praise of my writing: I wasn't always this good. Go read my first Sisters Grimm fanfic. I think it was "Things in the Lives of the Grimms". It's pretty bad. So you keep writing! Practice is your best teacher.

IAMAGUEST: Congratulations. I've never had a guest with that name before. Mustardseed is one of my favorite characters too. As for who's going to die… I haven't decided yet. Someone is going to bite the dust pretty soon, though. I'm glad you enjoy the story!

Arabella Quinn: Unfortunately, I cannot make a real boyfriend like Mustardseed for you. If I could just spirit characters to life, I definitely would. And I'm glad that you're in love with this story! As for Doctor Who… Moffat! He keeps ripping my poor heart apart. I don't know if I watch it because it's good, or because I enjoy getting emotionally traumatized over fictional characters. Anyway, enough of my rant. Thanks for reviewing!

Okay, guys, I have to go. Love you all, keep reading.

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Sabrina woke up the next morning to find Puck propped up in the desk chair, snoring.

She blinked, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and looked again. Yeah, he was still there. She pushed herself up against the pillows. Great. He was probably going to follow her around for days to make sure he had put her off from visiting Mirror. Well, she wasn't the Queen of Sneaks for nothing. She didn't have to do whatever he said, and she didn't need to stick around him. She knew what she was doing, and he was not in charge of her. She slid out of the bed and tip-toed to the door. As soon as she was out of the room, a sharp buzzing static filled her ears.

Sabrina yelped, her hands flying to cover her ears. Distantly, she heard Puck squawk, but the shrill buzz continued for a long second until, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Puck sauntered out of the room to join her in the hall, smirking. "So I guess you figured out what happens when you try to slink off without me." He looked far too pleased with himself for Sabrina's comfort.

"What did you do?" She demanded, rubbing at her still ringing ears as she glared defiantly at the Faerie.

Puck shrugged, still smirking. "I made it so that the Queen of Sneaks couldn't sneak off."

"What did you do?" Sabrina repeated, stepping towards the king. What could he have done to her to make that awful noise? And in both of their heads?

"Put a spell on you. Now you can't go more than twenty feet from me." He seemed unfairly pleased with himself, smugness practically wafting off of him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned at her as she fumed.

Sabrina let out a strangled cry of outrage. How could he? How dare he? It wasn't right to cast a spell on her! Especially one that forced her to be in close proximity with him.

"I almost made it so that you had to stay in the same room, but then I remembered that you take a disgusting amount of showers. So really, you should be thanking me." He shuddered, presumably at the thought of soap and water touching him.

"This is how you're going to keep an eye on me? I'll take the pixie, thanks!" She glowered, advancing on him, itching to punch the smirk off of his face. Around them, more doors were opening, more heads poking out to stare blearily at the scene unfolding in front of them. Horror filled her. What would they think when they realized that Puck had cast a spell on her because he didn't trust her?

"None of my minions wanted to be glued to your head. Something about having better things to do than keeping an eye of a human." He waved the information away. "Anyway, we're stuck like this until I decide otherwise. So, to the mess hall! I'm hungry. Come along, Grimm."

Sabrina lunged for his throat.

~Sisters Grimm~

The twenty feet proximity barrier was horribly accurate. And short. Very, very short. Especially when she wanted to kill the person at the other end.

Mustardseed was the only one that Puck told about the spell and the reason for it. He had given Sabrina his best "I'm disappointed in you, but not really overly shocked" look, and left her to her fate. This, more than anything, resigned Sabrina to it. Puck was a fireball, but if Mustardseed thought it was the best thing for her? He was probably right. Mustardseed, unlike Puck, was not vindictive.

But it wasn't fair. She hadn't been doing anything wrong. Not really. She wasn't supplying information to the enemy, she was just trying to be someone's friend. Someone who had been left very alone and bored for hundreds of years. Puck was being unreasonable. If Mirror was part of the Scarlet Hand, she would know. But he wasn't evil, just lonely. They were both being overly cautious, and she was paying the price.

And she was stuck with Puck.

Since her only real job was to maintain order in the camp, and whatever Mustardseed decided needed done, she was left to follow Puck everywhere. His duties were far more demanding and couldn't be neglected as much as hers could. So she sat on the ground with a stack of paperwork that needed filled out while Puck led a group of animal type Everafters in drills.

Supply lists, demands lists, and personal complaints lists were boring. So boring that Sabrina kept finding herself watching Puck train his soldiers.

She had found out only a few weeks ago that the Faerie could morph into whatever he needed to be. And it didn't have to be alive either. He basically just spun in a circle and transformed into whatever he wanted to be at the moment. It was uncanny to watch a teenage boy pirouette, changing somehow into something tremendously larger than himself. Slightly less strange was to see him become something smaller than he really was. Once he had turned into a rabbit, just to show off.

Now, he kept morphing back and forth between different types of animals and magic creatures to prove his points as he showed them how to fight. It was weird to know that Puck wasn't just a master fighter in his Faerie form, but also in any body she could imagine. As she watched, the boy changed into a dragon, huge and hulking, far too powerful to be comfortable with. Sabrina looked back down at her work.

"Hey, Grimm!" A shout broke her concentration, and she looked up to see Puck hefting a sword. "Come here, I got something I want to show these idiots."

Sabrina debated for a second about whether or not to indulge his demand. After all, she was still angry. But if she didn't, she'd have to finish the paperwork, and really, who cared if Little Boy Blue wanted more blue berries on the menu?

She pushed the stack away and stood, brushing dirt off her shorts, before wandering the short distance over to take the sword. "What?"

"I need you to attack a tiger."

"What?"

"Me, as a tiger. Attack." Puck grinned, and spun. Sabrina gaped at the huge cat in front of her, then glowered, all her former irritation returning.

"I'm not going to hit you with this!" She protested, waving the sword in his face.

"Well, no duh." The tiger answered in Puck's voice. "I'm not going to let you." His voice had a growling purr quality, his apparent amusement in her naivety showing through.

"And how can you even talk? Tigers don't have the same vocal cords as humans." Sabrina huffed, going to cross her arms before she remembered the sword clutched in her hand, and instead letting them hang at her sides.

"I don't know, Grimm! Do I look like an Everafter expert to you?" Puck growled, the purr leaving his tone as his tail lashed back and forth. His _tail._

"No, you look like a tiger. A stupid, idiotic tiger." Sabrina retorted. It was disconcerting to talk to a tiger as if it were a person, Sabrina decided. She felt like an idiot. Of course, the Faerie was the idiot here, she reminded herself.

"C'mon, Grimm. You've wanted to take a whack at me all morning." Puck wheedled, the purr back in his voice. Sabrina paused to think. This was definitely true. She had been fairly itching to hit him all day.

"Fine. But remember that I told you so." She sighed, giving in and hefting the sword into a double-handed grip, swinging it experimentally to get the feel of an unfamiliar weapon.

"That's my girl." The tiger was fairly smirking, its whiskers tilted up in a smug expression as he crouched low to the ground, awaiting her attack.

Sabrina lunged, swiping to the left. Puck darted backwards, then curved around her to stand on her own left side. She swung again, this time downwards before directing the sword up. He darted again, tucking himself into a neatly compacted ball of muscle before launching at her, barreling her over backwards. The sword fell from Sabrina's hand as the tiger purred over his victory and swiped at her face with his tail before daintily disentangling himself.

"Yeah, yeah. You won. Who didn't see that coming?" Sabrina pulled herself to her feet and ruffled the hair on the cat's head. "We all knew what was coming."

Puck whirled, and became a boy once more. "I did." He grinned cheekily. Sabrina's hand, still conveniently on his head, whacked him.

It was amazing, Sabrina thought, as she settled back down to the paperwork, what trying to kill someone could do for your attitude. She felt much better for having attempted to take Puck's head off. It briefly occurred to her that that might have been Puck's point in having her attack him. She stopped to stare at him.

"See something you like, Grimm?" Puck grinned as he realized that she was staring.

"No, not really." Sabrina shook her head. There was no way that he had planned that. Right?

~Sisters Grimm~

"Lieblings, why are you so close together?" Relda asked that night at dinner, her blue eyes twinkling in a way that made Sabrina think that she knew exactly why and just wanted to see her granddaughter blush.

"Because the Faerie is an idiot." She said, cutting up the steak in front of her. One thing about cattle ranches: there was beef everywhere. Even a herd left behind that Mustardseed was planning on using, both as horse power and as meat.

"Am not." Puck retorted, his mouth full.

"Puck found out something about Sabrina that he'd rather not, and put a spell on her to keep her within twenty feet." Mustardseed absently informed the old woman. He was reading reports, a forkful of mashed potatoes half-way to his mouth as he scanned handwritten letters.

"Mustardseed!" Sabrina reproached him.

"What? She wasn't supposed to know?" Mustardseed looked up from his report. "I think she ought to."

"Oh, dear. Puck, Liebling, this is no way to deal with jealousy." Relda shook her head disapprovingly at the king. "If Sabrina already has a boyfriend, you must simply give it a few months. They'll have broken up by then."

Sabrina sputtered as she felt her face turn red. "Granny!"

Puck was too busy choking to offer any assistance, so Sabrina continued. "It's not like that!"

"Oh? You're serious about this boyfriend? But you're too young to be serious." Her grandmother shook her head.

Mustardseed was choking too, but while Puck had a piece of broccoli lodged in his throat, he was laughing. Mr. Canis, sitting beside Relda, remained almost impassive, but there was a tilt to his lips that made Sabrina think he wasn't so unaffected as he pretended to be.

"No! There's no boyfriend! And no jealousy!" Sabrina was fairly shouting now. Half of the mess hall was staring, some curious, but others out-right laughing.

"Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Relda's eyes were still shining. "You're a pretty girl, Sabrina. I don't doubt that there's a boy somewhere."

"Yeah, there's about five hundred of them here! And you're embarrassing me." Puck was wheezing now, and Sabrina reached out absently to thump him on the back. "Breathe, you idiot."

"No, Old Lady." Puck finally managed to choke. "It's not like that." He heaved a wheezing breath, tears rolling down his face as he struggled to regain his breath.

"No?" Relda looked slightly crest-fallen. "Are you sure?"

"When did you turn into such a die-hard shipper?" Sabrina spluttered. Seriously? What was with people assuming that she and Puck were dating? Not that she would mind, but…

"What's a shipper?" Relda peered innocently at her granddaughter.

"It means you want to see Sabrina and Puck together in a relationship." Mustardseed explained briefly.

"Well, I suppose so. They certainly are good friends. Don't you think they'd be lovely together, Mr. Canis?" She turned to her friend.

"Yes." He agreed, cutting up his steak.

"It's not like that!" Sabrina protested, and turned wildly to Puck. "Tell them it's not that!"

"It's not-" Puck wheezed. "It's not like that. At all."

"Oh." Relda nodded. "So then it's about her visiting Mirror. I thought you knew."

"How do you know?" Sabrina asked, incredulous. She was Queen of Sneaks! And for the reason that she was incredibly good at sneaking. How could Granny have known that she was visiting Mirror?

"Liebling, didn't anyone tell you that I'm a detective? And a fairly good one, if I do say so myself." Relda preened. "Of course I knew when someone else started to visit Mirror. He missed you today, though."

"No… No one told me." Sabrina shook her head.

"No? Well, someone should have." Relda shrugged. "I don't see how it matters."

"Puck told her not to." Mustardseed explained. "And I agree with him."

"We did tell you that we believe the Scarlet Hand is using a magic mirror." Puck added. His voice was raw from all the coughing and he rubbed at his throat, wincing.

"I remember that, Puck." Relda nodded. "And I think you were wrong, Sabrina, to lie and sneak like that."

Sabrina opened her mouth, but Mr. Canis spoke before she could.

"You forget, child, that you are in the midst of a war." He paused, his eyebrows lowering to add weight to his next words. "You are a mere human child, who does not know the destruction an ordinary human war waged with grenades and guns can cause. Our wars may seem barbaric and simple to you, but the level of power and harm that we wield escapes you. Even the seemingly weakest can be the largest threat on the field."

Relda laid a restraining hand on Mr. Canis's arm, and smiled gently. "We have not told you, Liebling, but my friend is the Big Bad Wolf."

"He transforms. It isn't his true form." Mustardseed had turned his attention back to the papers in front of him.

Sabrina's mind reeled. Mr. Canis? Quiet, unassuming Mr. Canis? A murderer?

As if though he could sense the thoughts spinning through Sabrina's head, Puck grinned. "It's not quite like that. He's kind of like Jekyll and Hyde." His voice was still terribly rough, but he looked exceedingly proud of himself for finding an explanation. "It's not really something he wants to do, but it's unavoidable."

"So… He hulks out?" Sabrina attempted.

"What?"

"Never mind." Sabrina pushed the thought aside. She didn't really want to explain another pop culture reference to the Faerie. He could watch the Avengers later.

"The point is that no one is harmless. You don't know the full extent of their abilities, and you may not know until it's too late to do anything about it." Puck was putting his full attention on her. It was kind of unnerving to have all his concentration drilling into her, as if though he was willing the importance of his words to sink in through her skin, not just into her brain. He usually only did it at training, but he seemed to be willing all her focus on him more often lately, as if though he was afraid that hse didn't understand the importance of all the things happening around her.

"I do think that it would be only right for Sabrina to continue to visit Mirror." Relda spoke up on her granddaughter's behalf. "He is lonely, and I think it is not outside the realm of possibility to say that she could use a friendly listener."

"Hey!" Puck looked affronted. "I listen to her."

"But you're not very parental. Sabrina needs guidance now, the kind you and I cannot properly provide her with." Relda explained. "So long as you are careful in what you say, dear, I see no reason for you to avoid Mirror." She smiled at Sabrina.

Sabrina turned to Puck, ready to demand that he break the spell he had cast on them.

"Nuh-uh." He shook his head. "The Old Lady might have told you that it's okay to talk to the possible spy, but I'm not backing down. You lied, and you know you're wrong. So this," He gestured to the space between them, "is your punishment until I say otherwise."

"He is right." Mustardseed's head popped up, and he gazed at her. Sabrina had a feeling that if the Faerie Prince had glasses, he'd be peering at her disapprovingly over them. "Five hundred years ago, you would have been executed. It is his right as Commander General to choose your punishment and ensure its execution."

Sabrina huffed in exasperation. She couldn't argue, and she knew it. Puck had been right, she had known that she wasn't supposed to be visiting Mirror. She had betrayed his trust as far as that went. Puck shouldn't have been watching her, but she shouldn't have given him reason to.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Um, where are you going?" It was eleven, and finally, they were turning in. It had been a long day of negotiating and training, and everyone in the camp was more than willing to call it quits for the day.

"Uh, to bed, Grimm." Puck raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, idiot. Bed." Sabrina had to fight a laugh as Puck's eyes widened and he stuttered comically.

"I don't know!" He blustered, face rapidly turning red. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault? How is this my fault?" Sabrina demanded, stepping closer to snarl in his face. It wasn't her fault. It was his. He had to know that.

"If you had just listened to me, we wouldn't be in this condition!" Puck huffed, the tips of his ears rapidly changing to a brilliant shade of red.

"What condition?" Sabrina snorted. "We're bound together by some invisible rope that starts screaming whenever one of us wanders too far away!" It had gone off several times that day, filling their ears with a high-pitched squeal of static until they edged closer together. It was, in a word, a pain.

"Hmph." Puck huffed and folded his arms, obviously refusing to admit that maybe his plan to teach Sabrina honesty had backfired spectacularly. "We'll just have to camp out in my room."

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. You're not staying in mine. You stink."

"I do not." He protested, lifting one arm to sniff his armpit. He grimaced, but didn't make any further argument.

"Lead the way, fairy boy." Sabrina smacked him alongside the head.

Thankfully, Mustardseed's only reaction to the addition to his room was a sideways glance at Puck, and a half smile at Sabrina. He excused himself to a different room, in favor of letting Sabrina have a bed.

Sabrina allowed herself the happy consolation that at least Puck hadn't gone so far as to handcuff them together as she settled down in Mustardseed's bed. That would have been even more awkward.

~Sisters Grimm~

Puck didn't relent for the rest of the week. He simply dragged Sabrina along to wherever and whatever needed done for the day, sometimes following her like a puppy to all her designated tasks, or hauling her to his own duties for the day.

Almost no one knew the reason for their state of seemingly joined at the hip, and Puck was willing to explain it as a magic lesson gone astray. Sabrina had to wonder how many people believed that. After all, Puck had known magic for a far longer time than most Everafters. It was foolish to hope that everyone would buy the weak explanation.

But still, they were almost stuck together. And they were getting oddly used to it. The shrill warning went off far less often by the fifth day as they both got used to the proximity. Puck seemed to regret that he hadn't made it thirty feet instead of twenty.

The one good thing that came out of it was all the extra training that Puck deemed necessary. Sabrina was willing to bet that he only insisted on it because he didn't want to work on paperwork anymore than he had to, and she had far more of it than he did. Every soldier had to be documented, photo taken, abilities and shortcomings filed. And with over two thousand of them currently milling around, it seemed as if though this particular duty would never be finished.

So instead, Puck insisted on more push-ups, archery practice, fencing, and kung-fu. They were beginning to gather audiences when they practiced, more than a few Everafters willing to put aside their jobs to watch the two blonds try to hack each other to pieces.

So of course the peace was interrupted.

The Scarlet Hand was found gathering at the edge of the property, setting up a far cruder camp. Only three of the Scouting party returned from their discovery, five more killed.

Suddenly, the camp was no longer a happy, bustling place. The enormity of the war sunk in, along with the fact that there hadn't been such a war in over two thousand years.

Upon the news, Puck immediately released Sabrina from her confinement. It was no longer the time for pranks and vaguely vindictive punishments. War was finally here.

~Sisters Grimm~

Heyho, so I have returned once more to your screens. Yay me!

You may have noticed that the spell and the handcuffs from book 6 are a lot alike. Yeah, that's an intended symmetry. I just gave it a more grownup version.

Anyway, it's more than time to get this party started, I think. We're finally going to start on what the summary promised. Whenever I feel bad about that, I just remember that Michael Buckley wrote three books about the war. Greatness takes time, I guess.

Okay, so onto the only reason anyone listens to my prattling! Review Replies!

Arabella Quinn: Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out. As for your predictions… We'll see. Still writing, and contrary to my outline, it keeps evolving. My stupid muse keeps going, "Yeah, that's great. But what if…" I mean, everyone can see the betrayal coming like a storm, but what about the details? That's what keeps changing.

LavendarMoonRose: True enough. We'll see how this relationship develops, shall we? I can't wait for this whole story to come to a head and all the little details to come together.

IAMAGUEST: I'm actually still deciding on who's going to die. Maybe a few people at once? I do have a hit list, though. I LOVE that song! (22 by Taylor Swift, I mean.)

LunaDiamond: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

Guest: I actually wrote that note (chapter 16) during a spurt of depressed anger. Don't worry, this story is going to keep going! Six chapters and seven weeks later, and I'm still updating.

FABULOUSGIRLFOREVER5555: Battle scenes are coming. They just take me forever to write, because I'm not very good at them. I usually picture the scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies and try to go off of those when I'm writing them. I wrote a few of them for my previous story, and they read kinda stilted and awkward, so I'm trying to be more careful. I also read books to get an idea of how to do it. But still… Takes a while. I also got your reviews for my Random Thing in the Lives of the Grimms. I enjoyed reading them!

Anyho, I'm gonna post this. Not sure if you're getting a chapter next week, because I'm only half way through it, and it's going slow.

Carry on!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

A week after the scouting party returned, Sabrina woke up to find that the electricity was down. Her laptop couldn't charge, and the lights all over the house were dark.

She rolled out of bed and padded to the dining room, pulling a hand through her knotted hair in an attempt to return it to some semblance of order. Someone was sure to tell her why the lights weren't working. But she was willing to bet her worthless laptop on the idea that the Scarlet Hand had cut the power lines to isolate them from the outside world.

Relda and Mustardseed were already sitting at the table, Puck hovering over their heads with a mug of tea in his hands. "I see that our first questioner has arrived." Relda's eyes twinkled at her granddaughter.

"Yeah." Sabrina nodded, automatically going for the coffee pot. But it was lifeless and cold. "I take it," She sighed and boosted herself up to sit on the counter, "that the enemy has seen it fit to take away my caffeine supply." Irritation prickled her. Already she was feeling the effects of caffeine withdrawal.

"Bingo." Puck grinned lazily at her, pointing at her. "They cut the power lines."

"So I gather." Sabrina huffed. She could have really used a hot cup of- "Hey, how do you have tea?"

"Campfire out back." Puck jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "We've been prepared for this for weeks, Grimm."

"Electricity is a fairly new invention." Mustardseed shrugged. "We've done without it for millennia."

"I bet you got used to it awful fast, though, didn't you?" Sabrina questioned. She knew that the Faeries relied on technology for a lot of their communication. Mustardseed seemed practically fused to his electronics some days. She refused to believe that he would just shrug off the loss of his efficiency. He was kind of a control freak when it came to it.

He shrugged. "It will be fairly easy to readjust. Faerie has only been using electricity for-" He stopped, and tilted his head, apparently counting in his head. "Five? I think it's been five years. We've done quite well without it for years, thank you for your concern." He smiled at her, taking all the sting out of the barb.

"It's going to be a little harder." Puck acknowledged, "But we'll be fine. Humans did without it, too, you know."

"Yeah, well, not this human." Sabrina wasn't looking forward to the loss. The freezers, water, lights, electronics, kitchenware…

As if though reading her thoughts, Relda chuckled. "Oh, Liebling. They've been prepared for this for a very long time."

"We've got an icehouse, supplies of wood and propane, kerosene lamps, and a generator." Mustardseed explained.

"Plus gas for all the cars." Puck grinned. Sabrina blinked at them. They had expected this from the first day, then.

"By no means should we be wasting any of our resources. They're limited, despite our best efforts, and waste will not be tolerated." Mustardseed pinned Sabrina with a look. "Explain that to your soldiers, would you?"

Sabrina nodded. "Coffee?" She asked hopefully. She needed a mug of it.

"Out in the yard, by the mess hall." Mustardseed sighed, used to her complete dependency. "Percolators been running for a half hour now."

"Some of our very essential supplies were coffee, Grimm." Puck tipped back the last of his drink and touched down beside her. "C'mon, I'll show you."

"God bless you." Sabrina grinned at him, hopping off the counter.

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina was the only one who really resented the loss of electricity. Almost everyone else was too used to doing without it, and the loss was only a mild irritant to them. Even Jake had just shrugged.

"We've done without it before, Peanut." He tugged one of her curls. "I'm sure we'll manage again."

Be that as it may, Sabrina did not look forward to being in a camp full of people who were allotted a single bath every week. Half of them probably didn't even know what deodorant was, she reflected gloomily as she gathered up laundry boards.

The oncoming fight still hovered warningly over everything, leaving a camp full of grim men and women who were only waiting on the call to pick up arms. Hours were spent going over weapons lists and lessons on the proper care of each person's selected weapon.

In short, it was no longer the shiny, bustling place that Sabrina had grown used to.

What was worse was the fact that the battle was so long in coming. Sabrina wanted to know why they didn't attack while the Hand was setting up their own camp.

Puck had shaken his head. "No. They'll have guards posted everywhere. We're better off to lull them into a false sense of security, then strike."

"What if that's what they're doing to you?" Sabrina was doubtful of the wisdom of his plan. She'd destroy their camp while they were building it, not wait for them to be prepared to launch an attack.

"Yeah, well, we'd know."

"And they don't? What if they make the first move?"

"Then we'll be ready, Grimm. Relax. Most of war is waiting each other out." Puck ruffled her hair, grinning unrepentantly when she glowered at him. "Patience and men. That's what it takes. And luckily enough, most of us have been around for centuries. Tends to mellow you out."

Sabrina had let it drop, but she still had her doubts. How could they just wait each other out? They had told her that there would be a lot of destruction. If this was really just a waiting game, how would they manage to destroy anything? They'd be too busy counting tumbleweeds. He had to be exaggerating.

And he was. Not three days after their conversation, a report came in.

"The enemy appears to be readying their weapons." Puck was serious, hands planted on the table as he shared the new information with his council. "My minions report that they've completed their camp."

"It's crude." Mustardseed broke in. "It can't be much more than tents. They've only been here two weeks."

"Which means that they're on the offense." Charlie Weasley grinned.

"Actually, they've got a barrier." Puck stopped their celebration. "It's not much, definitely no unbreachable defense, but it's there."

"Which means that they're going to try to keep us away from it, but that they're not really concerned." Robin Hood nodded sagely.

"So they're overly sure of their chance of success." Charming smiled. "Good. Cocky enemies are always better than humble."

Sabrina glanced around at the men and women surrounding the table. Most of them looked hopeful, although several seemed doubtful of the predictions. She was on the side of the doubting. Maybe the Hand had an ace up their sleeve that no one knew about yet. Maybe it wasn't the enemy that was being cocky, but their side. She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes in concentration. Puck could be right. He did have a long history with warfare, but then again…

"What if they're just acting like they expect us to?" She blurted. The room fell silent, and she felt every eye turn to stare at her. Heat rose in her face as someone scoffed.

"Ah, chit." A barrel of a man chuckled at her. "What I wouldn't give to be so innocent again."

"Experience tells us that your theory-" A woman with glasses perched on her nose and a short haircut started, smiling condescendingly down at Sabrina.

"Is plausible." Titiana rose. The air seemed to crackle around her. "Do not suppose to know everything, Belinda. This experience that you speak of is not your own, but the third and fourth hand accounts of others, far braver than yourself."

"It is true that it could be a lure." Puck tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"I believe that is what I said." Titiana's attention swiveled to pin her son. "Do not be repetitive, it is the murderer of efficiency."

Sabrina sunk in her seat as the monarchs stared at each other. Mustardseed coughed lightly, drawing their attention to the room full of people watching them.

"Sabrina does raise an interesting point." He shuffled the papers in front of him as his family sheepishly reseated themselves. "It would not be beyond reason to assume that the Hand is simply… careless, but it is also within the realm of possibility that they are attempting to lure us into a false sense of security."

"Constance vigilance." Charlie Weasley smiled, a faraway glint in his eye.

"Exactly." Four propped his feet on the table. "Ah say we take the lass's idea into consideration, at the very least. We've heard many a stupider suggestion by those far older ahn' wiser." He smiled innocently around the room.

"It is… Possible." Charming agreed, clearing his throat. "Perhaps not the most efficient tactic, but certainly not the worst I have encountered."

"But what do they gain by acting like we expect them to?" Robin Hood stroked his goatee.

"Sabrina?" Puck turned to her. "You suggested it."

"Well…" Sabrina straightened, clasping her hands together on the table. "What don't they gain? The first few battles are going to pick off their weaker members. I mean, sure, they lose some human shields and some numbers. But then they don't have to pay and feed those same soldiers. Those lives buy them an understanding of their enemies' tactics, numbers, strengths and weaknesses. If they're really the type of people we're told they are, do you think they'd hesitate to do that?" She looked around the room, making eye contact with several people. They seemed to be accepting her reasoning, nodding, or at the very least, less doubtful of her theory.

Four was grinning. "Keep going, lass. Ah think there's more to this then you're saying."

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah. I mean, there is. They lull us into a sense of security, then they take what they've learned and use it to destroy us. But you knew that. You've been doing this for centuries. So what you're asking me is what do I see them doing?" Four nodded, a smug grin playing across his face.

"Like I said, they get rid of the fat, bring their army down to the pure muscle and power, right? But, and no offense, usually the muscle power doesn't have the brainpower needed to win a war. So they have an ace up their sleeve. They're just waiting for the right time to play it, when their army is at its strongest. Once they sacrifice the weaker members, they've got a herd of power and blood thirsty Everafters ready to do their bidding. They've got a taste of destruction, they'll keep going. Usually the reality doesn't sink in until there's been death. I don't think?" She ended hesitantly. No one answered her. Most of them were staring, open-mouthed. She ducked her head, face flaming. She had been stupid to say anything. She was so wrong that not even Mustardseed had anything nice to say.

Applause started, and she jerked her head up, staring. Titiana was standing, clapping delicately. Soon, the room joined her. Sabrina looked around, bewildered, as they started to shout. Puck clapped her on the shoulder. "Good work, Grimm." He grinned at her and hauled her upright from her seat to stand at level with the rest of the stamping crowd. "You've blown them all away."

"But… But how?" She yelled over the shouting. It died down, just enough for her to be heard.

"Lassie," Four grinned up at her, "Not many of us could have made that deduction."

"And none of us are a seventeen-year-old human." Mustardseed smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "It is not so much your deduction that we applaud, but your foresight."

"We were willing to believe that it was just their nature-"

"Which it may yet be." Titiana broke in. "But in my own experience, it is the stupidest that you cannot trust." She bestowed a rare smile on the room. "I am pleased, Sabrina Grimm, that you already have the wisdom not to trust what is so plain to all."

"But why the fuss?" Sabrina looked around. "You all just… stood up and started clapping for no reason. All I did-"

"Was make a suggestion that a room absolutely full of many times war veterans did not. You saw what the rest of us did not."

"You would be a great general, given the chance." Robin Hood twinkled merrily at her.

"It is not so much your idea that they applaud, but your understanding. It is outstanding for someone so inexperienced." Jake elbowed his way up to pull his niece into a hug. "To them, it is a right of passage that you could come up with such a plot."

"We stopped celebrating birthdays and anniversaries long ago." Charming explained. "They are meaningless when one expects so many of them. Instead, we celebrate firsts."

"And this was a first." Jake grinned. "Congratulations, Sabrina." He released her, and held her out at arm's length, grinning at her. "You've impressed us all."

"But we must return to the matter at hand." Derek broke in. "The triumph of Miss Grimm cannot distract us from our goal."

"True." Puck was still beaming proudly at Sabrina, even as he sat back down. "And the fact of the matter is that they are forming their army. I doubt that it is as organized as our own. Intelligence suggests that it is made up mostly of trolls and the like. They have the brute force, but not the discipline. However, we can't discount their more human members. We don't have even a rough estimate for these yet, but it would be foolish to suggest that there are none."

"We have been able to write up a list of some names." Mustardseed opened a bulging folder and extricated a small stack of papers stapled together. "We based it off of known Everafters and their absence from our enlistment groups. Some are… Less than impressive, but others are formidable."

"Give us a few names, then." Someone suggested.

"The Queen of Hearts-"

A snort followed that name. Mustardseed looked over the top of his paper, and gazed, unimpressed, at the Everafter who had made the noise. "May I continue?" When no protest followed, he continued.

"The Patchwork Girl; Glinda the Good; the Sheriff of Nottingham; Jack Sparrow; Willoughby; Jack the Pumpkin Head." He put down the papers, and looked over the group assembled before him. "Those are the weakest, as we yet believe. More are unaccounted for. Faerie may keep track of Everafters and their known associates, but we do not draft them into our wars. We have no way of knowing how many of them have joined the enemy, how many were killed, or how many have been bullied into becoming soldiers. I have reason to believe that the Scarlet Hand has several powerful warlocks, including Baba Yaga."

The room became very still. Sabrina looked around, confused. Wasn't Baba Yaga that witch in Russian fairy tales who ate children? And wasn't she supposed to be dead? Didn't the twelve-year-old girl in the story kill her? Why was everyone so terrified of her? It sounded like all the witch did was suck the marrow from the bones of children.

"Awesome." Puck groaned, sinking back in his seat and running a hand through his hair. "How did they get the crone, anyway? I thought she was above war, would rather feast on the dead and crow over their misery, that sort of thing."

"I don't know." Mustardseed shuffled his papers away. "Perhaps they bribed her."

"With what? She doesn't want anything." Puck was agitated. Sabrina could see his fingers itching to start fiddling with something. She handed him a pen. "I know." He started to disassemble and reassemble the pen. "I tried to get her to join. She said that she didn't see any point in joining our trivial bickering."

"Ah." Charming nodded.

"Indeed."

~Sisters Grimm~

"But I really don't understand why they were all so excited." Sabrina finished.

She was in the Hall of Wonders once more, this time with her grandmother's approval. She and Mirror were sitting in his favorite room, teapot happily steaming between them as Sabrina caught him up on the on-goings of her life. She hadn't told him about Puck's demand that she stop visiting him. She hadn't stopped, so it hadn't mattered anyway.

Mirror smiled gently at her. "Starfish, you forget, they have been alive for hundreds of years." He relaxed in his seat. "They are used to the follies and foolishness of humanity, not the jewels that they can produce."

"But most of them were human, too." Sabrina cocked her head at him, bewildered.

As he always did, Mirror obligingly explained his statement. "Many of them were created in the middle ages, you'll understand, when the world was torn by religion and witch burnings. You could say that the Middle Ages were man's darkest hour. He cast aside his gods and demanded that all around him do the same. Those that disagreed were burned for something that no one could prove. It was a superstitious time, and many Everafters suffered for it. It's only natural that they believe humans to be rather silly after all that they have seen."

"So your prediction seemed miraculous to them. A mere human girl who could bring about a plot that none of them thought of? Your intelligence surprised them. It challenged their views, and they liked the outcome."

"That's what Mustardseed said. I still don't get the big deal." Sabrina shrugged. She honestly didn't. A fresh pair of eyes had helped, that was all. There was no reason to be so surprised.

"And that's why it is." Mirror nodded.

~Sisters Grimm~

Peace couldn't last forever. And it didn't, not under the weight of Sabrina's prediction. Two days after the Council, the army was suiting up, getting ready to go out and face the army that they believed intended to bring evil down on them.

Sabrina dodged through the crowd of milling men to find Puck. He was at the weapons bunker, issuing swords.

"Hey, Grimm." He acknowledged her as he handed a troll a rapier.

"You're going out?" Sabrina demanded.

Puck turned to look at her. "What clued you in? Yeah, we're headed out. We agreed on it at the last Council." He regarded her disapprovingly. "Weren't you listening? Where have you been anyway?"

Something about the way he said it made Sabrina think he knew that she had spent the last afternoon in the Magic Mirror. She bristled. "I was listening. And I didn't hear anything about moving out." She ignored his question about her whereabouts.

"It was a mutual agreement after your idea." He turned back to his task. "Congratulations, Grimm." He smiled at her, a hint of his usual grin. "You persuaded us all."

Sabrina looked around her. The sun shone off of breastplates and arm guards, threatening to blind her. Most of the soldiers were doing their last inspection of their weapons. Others were huddled in groups together, some obviously praying, some crying, some laughing. A chill ran through her despite the heat of the sun.

"You're launching an attack." She whirled to stare at the Faerie. "Not checking it out, you're attacking them."

"We've been circling them for a year now, Grimm. We know enough about them to attack with a good chance of winning." Puck issued another sword, careful to keep from looking her in the eyes.

"A good chance?" Sabrina grabbed his arm, stilling his movements. "What do you mean, a good chance? You're not certain, and you're going anyway?" Dread curled in her stomach. Some of these men and women might not return, and Puck could easily be one of them.

"Sabrina." Puck reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "In war, you can never be certain. You can only plan as best you can, make use of whatever supplies you have, and hope like Hell that your enemy has worse luck than you." He smiled at her, ignoring the line of men awaiting their weapons. "You just get used to it."

"But you might not come back." Sabrina shook her head in denial.

"And I always know that." He nodded. "Every one of these soldiers knows it. You just believe that your cause is worth living and dying for. You can't do more than that." He pulled away from her, returning to his work. "And it sucks. But you do it anyway, because you believe what you're fighting for is worth it."

Sabrina nodded, even though he couldn't see her. A lump rose in her throat, and she turned, looking for Mustardseed.

She found him near the magic storehouse, loading weapons. He spared a minute for her when she asked.

"Let me go with you." She pleaded.

"No." He shook his head. When she began to protest, he shook his head. "Sabrina, it would be extremely unwise to take you into battle. You have the ability to be a great warrior, it's true. I won't deny that. But you need to remember, you're only fragilely human, too. And you have the warding. If you go nuclear, you'll burn yourself out, and who knows what else you'll do along the way?" He smiled gently at her. "No, Sabrina. You'll stay here and direct the camp while we're gone. We'll be back in a few hours if all goes well."

"If." Sabrina pointed out.

"And you could die in a training exercise. But it's a risk we all take." He grasped her hand. "Don't worry. We'll come back."

The camp blurred around Sabrina as the prince returned to his work. She turned to watch the soldiers. It hit her that any one of them might not return to his life when the war was over, if it ever ended. She watched numbly as they formed ranks, marched out of the camp, Puck, Mustardseed, and Titiana the avenging gods at the head of the glittering mass.

It was hard to watch them go, hard not to simply blend in with them and travel with them despite Mustardseed's orders.

It was strange to see Puck in armor, sword hung at his side, hair gleaming in the sun, Mustardseed standing resolutely behind him. Titiana was beside her two sons, a dress of chainmail glinting in the sun as she strode resolutely ahead, double blades strapped across her back.

And within only a few minutes, they were gone, the gates closing behind them as they moved further ahead, never looking back on what they were leaving behind.

~Sisters Grimm~

Okay, so maybe I watched The Lord of the Rings before writing the last scene. Nothing you can prove though! And maybe Titiana's war outfit is based off of the Snow Queen's in Narnia. But, again, can't prove it.

Anyway, let's get to the main feature: Review Replies!

Arabella Quinn: Well, I got the chapter done. Yay me! Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I have no social life, only fanfiction. Which, in my defense, I think we can all agree is totally awesome! I'm glad you liked the chapter so much, and I hope this one kept your enthusiasm going! Geronimo, my fellow Whovian!

LavendarMoonRose: I love that part about the handcuff-proximity limit. I've actually been planning that part since about chapter 16. It just suddenly popped into my mind, and I loved it a lot. So I wrote it. And yes, we've got some war action, finally! Been building up to this since I wrote the first chapter.

IAMAGUEST: I will always prefer a book that puts the effort into building a background and climax. I'm convinced that it's the reason the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books were such a success. And I have so many ideas dancing through my mind all the time, and all this background that I want to put in. I'm not done, either. But I am thrilled that you like the chapter and story over all! I love to hear that someone's enjoying my piddly attempt at a story.

spindleandquill: Ah, Relda. I'm glad I was able to pull off that part of the chapter. I was terrified that it wouldn't come out right. (I've never been grilled by anyone as to the status of any relationship, and I've never seen it done. I basically ran it off of other stories and movies.) But I ended up giggling like a crazy person while writing it so it was fun! And as you can see, Mirror is still there. Thanks for your suggestion! I was semi-sorta-thinking about putting it in, but you convinced me that it should be in there. And as you can see, Sabrina is telling him about the Council. So thanks for your input! I'm gonna use it, and see where it takes me!

.562: Thanks for your review! As you can undoubtly see, I did update! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

OakeX: You have no idea how happy I was to see all your reviews! And you give some really good feedback, too. I'm aware that there are holes in my Everafter creation process, and it sort of frustrates me. But I do have a plan to fix it, so know that. Some off the reason for it's… weirdness is because no one really knows quite how it works yet. They just know it's complicated and there's representatives, but not even the Everafter Council really knows how it goes, right? I mean, they have their minds wiped. So I am going somewhere with that! The holes are just not intentional, but I figured out how to fix them… I think. As for my explanation of both sides, I watched a Civil War (not the Captain America movie, either) documentary about both sides. It was fairly neutral, but I cried at the end. I think I just realized that in every war, there are men who die, and their cause and reason for it are belittled in history because the history books are written by the winners. And that makes me sad.

And I loved reading about how much you love Puck and Mustardseed's relationship! I actually enjoy writing that way more than Puckabrina fluff because of all the history and life the fairies have between them. Thanks again for reviewing! I really liked reading them!

Anyway, I gotta get back to work. Hope you enjoyed reading, because your next does isn't here for another week!

Don't forget to drop a line! I love hearing from you guys!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The camp was quiet now that most of the army was gone. Sabrina hadn't heard so much silence in months, and it was freaking her out. It seemed to stalk her as she checked the medical and food stations, slunk behind her ominously as she inspected the defenses.

Desperately missing her ipod, Sabrina turned to checking up on the training equipment, then to sharpening her own sword. The quiet was unsettling. She had never lived in so much silence. New York was always bustling, and even though there was a minimal guard posted around the encampment, the dread they all felt kept them silent.

No one felt like talking, instead wondering about the outcome of the battle, if there even was one. As the hours dragged on and various tasks were carried out, the cows milked, a meal served and half eaten, Sabrina's apprehension grew. Mustardseed had said they'd probably be back in a few hours, but it had been almost a full day and they still weren't back. If nothing else, soldiers should be collapsing from hunger.

The soft sound of the whetstone over steel was comforting, Sabrina decided. She had spent a lot of hours with Puck going over the care of various weapons. He had been serious about it, demanding that she realize the importance of it.

"A well cared for weapon can save your life. Don't skip oiling your bow string just because you're tired." He had lectured, running a cloth down the length of a dagger. "How'd you like to die because you'd rather watch the Gilmore Girls than clean your sword?"

Remembering the conversation made Sabrina smile. Puck had just discovered Netflix a month before, and watching him binge watch shows that he hadn't known existed was hilarious.

Of course they'd be fine. They had survived how many wars? Puck and Mustardseed were prepared for anything that the Scarlet Hand could throw at them. This was just another star to their resumes. They'd be okay. They had to be.

Her mouth tightening, Sabrina laid the sword aside, fighting the urge to go visit Mirror and seek comfort from him. She couldn't just vanish, she was in charge of a mostly empty camp, which would fill up again soon. But Mirror would be able to tell her how everything was going. She didn't need to go inside the mirror to see the battle, all she had to do was ask him. If anyone needed her, all they had to do was shout. She'd hear them.

Her mind made up, Sabrina got up to go to her grandmother's room. No one stopped her as she climbed the stairs and crept into the room. Granny was winding bandages in the infirmary, and Sabrina was sure that she wouldn't disapprove, anyway. It wasn't as if everyone in the camp wasn't dying of apprehension anyway. At least this way, Sabrina could know what was happening.

"Hey, Mirror." Sabrina pulled the sheet that covered the mirror aside. His smiling face greeted her, crowfeet forming at the corners of his eyes as always.

"What's up?"

"Um…" She stopped, and settled cross-legged on the floor. What did she want, exactly? "I want to know how the battle is going?" What she really wanted to know was if Puck and Mustardseed were okay, but it seemed shamefully selfish to ask after only two fighters of the thousands of men and women who had left.

"Battle? What battle?" Mirror's forehead creased. "You mean that they've finally started to fight?"

Sabrina nodded. She hadn't told Mirror about the plan, everything had just happened too fast. One day, she got up and everything was the same as it always was. The next, the camp was turned inside out getting ready to fight unknown enemies. Of course Mirror didn't know anything about it. "Yeah. And I don't know how it's going."

"Are you sure you want to see?" Mirror asked gently. "It's probably a very gory scene, Starfish."

Sabrina hesitated, then shrugged. If others could fight, she could see what they were doing. She wasn't going to be in any danger. Not like they were. She could at least see their efforts.

"Alright, then." He studied her for a moment, then his face swirled away.

The scene before her didn't look at all like the ones in classic paintings, or even the black and white photos from her World War II history class. It was much more vivid, but somehow lacking the drama and romanticism of any image of war that she had ever seen. Red seemed to be everywhere, coating the men on the ground, the men still fighting, the weapons flashing as their owners attempted to add to the gory display. Everafters laid on the ground, on top of each other and alone, faces twisted in surprise and agony. Sabrina gasped, horror washing over her as her hands covered her mouth. "Puck?" She whispered. It was a request and a denial, a demand to see the idiot Faerie king alive and grinning.

The picture turned, going to the left and deeper in to find him. He was blood spattered, one arm tucked protectively against his side as he fought a warlock. The wizard was throwing balls of fire at him, dodging every time the king attempted to get close. Puck's hair was matted to his head, one of his eyes looked like it was on its way to swelling shut, but he was alive. He swung the sword, one-handed, in a neat arc, batting away one of the flaming balls and gaining space. Within the span of a minute, the wizard fell to the ground, decapitated by the person who had taught Sabrina everything she knew about fighting.

"Take it away?" Sabrina asked. Immediately, the scene vanished, and along with it, Puck's victory. Mirror's sad face replaced it, regarding her carefully. Sabrina gazed back at him, new fear of war settling into her. "Is war really like that?" She asked finally.

"Usually." Mirror replied gently.

"Why would anyone want that?" Sabrina asked, the images still firmly in place in her mind. There was so much… Destruction in it. She remembered Puck's prediction, and how she had scoffed at it. She had been ridiculous enough to think that he was exaggerating.

"Not very many do, Starfish." Mirror answered quietly. "They want the outcome of the war, but to get to it, you have to fight." He floated in front of her, bodiless, as he watched her.

"It's awful." Sabrina shook her head. It was worse than that. It was one thing to hear descriptions in a text book, to listen to vague predictions. It was another thing entirely to see it happen. And she hadn't even been there.

"It is." Mirror nodded. "War always is."

"And we don't even know why we're fighting it!" Sabrina stood and began to pace from one end of the room to the other. "I mean, what does the Scarlet Hand even want? I have no clue. I mean, they took my family because of what they were doing to Faerie, but they left me. So they can't have any good intentions, but what do they want?"

"That, my dear, you know I can't answer."

"Yeah, that's the problem. No one can, damn it!" Sabrina kicked out at the bed. It made a somewhat satisfying thunk, but the pain in her foot took away any pleasure she might have gotten from it. "They have to have some reason to die, right?"

"My dear, death isn't the enemy you humans seem to think it is. When you have life for as long as can be determined, it gets very boring. Flirtation with death becomes a welcome distraction."

"Can't they take up knitting or something?" Sabrina asked.

Mirror chuckled. "Apparently not."

"How much longer can the battle go on?" Sabrina asked.

"A few hours, a few days. There's no accurate prediction for this sort of thing."

"Yeah, well, there should be." Sabrina huffed.

"But there isn't."

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina spent the rest of the day in a state of agitation. She cleaned the entire house, made an inventory of the supplies, doubled checked her numbers, and went to bed, exhausted but unable to sleep. The next morning, the camp was still empty, and she was faced with a vast day of nothing much to do. She consoled herself by having the remainder of the camp run drills until lunch time.

She considered going back to ask Mirror to show her once more what was going on, but the thought terrified her. She had seen enough of battle to do her for some time, she decided, and instead went to draw up ration charts.

The day dragged on, a never-ending expanse of quiet and worry. When it ended, she went to sit on the porch, waiting for the army's return.

Relda joined her, settling in the rocker next to her granddaughter. "Can't sleep, Liebling?" She asked gently. Sabrina shook her head mutely.

"It's always like this, you know." Relda continued. "Whether your children are going to preschool for the first time, or your husband has been arrested. The apprehension and the worry remain no matter what enterprise they take on. Everything becomes a danger and a threat."

"This is worse than your toddler going off to play with other kids for the morning." Sabrina retorted.

"I know." Relda nodded. "But this is something everyone experiences, if not on the same level." She settled deeper into her chair, rocking back and forth. "All you can do is pray and believe in their strength. And your friends are all strong, you need not worry for them."

"They're strong, but not invincible." Sabrina shook her head.

"As is everyone." Relda reached out, placing a wrinkled hand on her arm. "Liebling, you must believe in them. They know what they are doing, but they know better than to be overly confident. And that, Sabrina, is the best quality they can have now."

Sabrina looked at the old lady, realizing for the first time that she and Jake were all the family her grandmother had left. Relda had lost just as much as she had, and she was still here. Relda's face crinkled into a smile. "You see now, child. Everything can be borne, so long as we have the strength to hold up under it. They will survive."

Sabrina nodded tightly, swallowing. Her grandmother was probably right. She was worrying needlessly.

A shout rose from the perimeter. "They're back!"

Sabrina bolted out of her seat, towards the watch house. She skidded to a stop next to the elderly Gepetto. "How far out?" She demanded, snatching the binoculars out of the guard's hands.

"Not sure, ma'am." He saluted. "I'd say that they're about a mile away yet, though ma'am."

Sabrina nodded absently, peering through the lens to focus on the returning army. It didn't seem to be much smaller. Maybe most of the dead had belonged to the Scarlet Hand, after all. She scanned the group desperately for Puck and Mustardseed, but couldn't identify them. They were probably as blood smeared and filthy as everyone else. "Prepare the infirmary and get the food heated." She turned to Gepetto. "And get the showers ready to go." Gepetto nodded, saluted again, and left. Sabrina looked back out at the approaching group, narrowing her eyes and glaring out at them. It looked smaller to her, but maybe she was being paranoid. She still couldn't make out faces well enough to say for sure that it was them.

"Alec!" She shouted. The fairy that had been appointed air guard dropped down beside, and bowed, hand fisted loosely over his heart. "Go out there and make sure it's them. Ask for the password and to see three of the officers. Don't get within firing range. Got it?" Alec nodded, bowed, and took off. He was out of sight in an instant.

Sabrina looked back out through the binoculars, sweeping back and forth over the front line as they inched closer. She could see Alec, a tiny blob only visible through enchantment, hovering over the group. He remained for a few minutes, then disappeared. He reappeared next to her and nodded. "It's them, ma'am. They offered the password, and his Majesty, his Highness, and Charming all gave their insignia."

"Do you know when they'll get here?"

"Another half hour, ma'am. They have wounded."

"And we have cars." Sabrina replied. "Get the White Rabbit to relieve the guard, and I'll go find some qualified drivers." Alec saluted, and hurried off to do as she said. Sabrina looked out at the mass, staring out at it until the White Rabbit relieved her of guard.

She hurried to collect her drivers, designating them each to the largest vehicles and climbing into a Chevy Suburban. She hoped the owner wouldn't be too protective of the leather seats. Blood would be on them soon enough.

She led the way to the army, gripping the steering wheel between white knuckles. Night air blew around the giant car, ruffling her hair as she sped towards them.

Gepetto's estimate had been off. They were two miles out, and thrilled to see the caravan of help headed their way. Sabrina left the soldiers to load the wounded as she rushed to find Mustardseed in the jostling, filthy crowd. She found Puck first. He was drawn and obviously exhausted, taking one look at her, and mumbling, "You're in charge now," before collapsing on the ground, arm at a strange angle underneath him.

"You idiot." Sabrina grumbled, bending down to hoist the general over one shoulder. She huffed as his weight settled on her, starting slowly for the car. Once she had him somewhat comfortably settled into the passenger seat, checked the room left in the vehicle and ordered that they cram more people into it, she went in search of Mustardseed.

Mustardseed was directing the loading of the wounded. Relatively unhurt himself, he spared a nod for Sabrina. "Statistics and so on have to be drawn first, but I believe we can say that this was a win." He sighed, pushing a muddy hand through his filthy hair. "Puck put you in charge?" Sabrina nodded. "Good." He nodded, exhaustion plain on his face. "You can direct the troops while I collapse."

"Yeah, no. Get them in the vans, then you can drop, okay?" Sabrina patted him on the back. "Puck's down for the count, and I can't handle this alone."

Mustardseed nodded again, and turned his attention back to his chore.

Sabrina picked her way back to the Chevy, which was finally full to her specifications. She sighed, hauling herself up into the driver's seat to turn it around. Puck snored in the seat next to her, curling protectively around his arm as he wiggled in his sleep. She snorted. Goofball.

This image didn't match up at all to the one she remembered from Mirror. This was a boy, not the warrior that she had seen in action, swinging a sword with controlled grace and precision. Sabrina shook her head.

The car trundled along slowly in the dark, the ride gentle to give comfort to the moaning soldiers crammed into it. Sabrina knew that she'd need to go back out and get another load. She'd much rather stay with Puck.

The gates opened smoothly, admitting the cars. Sabrina jumped out, slamming the door behind her. "Get these men unloaded. We're heading out for a second round." She ordered, opening the doors to allow the nurses to reach the injured. "And hurry!"

~Sisters Grimm~

The night passed on quickly, lost to a blur of frantic activity. Exhaustion clouded actions, but didn't slow them. Four trips were necessary to collect all the wounded, a truck to be sent out in the morning to collect the dead.

Puck remained asleep while his arm was rebroken and set, twitching away from the doctor's probing fingers and making small noises of complaint.

Mustardseed and Charming both collapsed as soon as they were within the camp walls, Mustardseed over a roll call list that he had been trying to fill out, Charming while he was cleaning his sword.

Jake found Sabrina dividing soldiers into groups, rotating them through the showers and mess hall.

"You're good at this." He smiled at her.

She turned to look blearily at him. Her eyes widened as she took in the cut slashed harshly and jaggedly into his cheek. "Geez, Uncle Jake! Get that thing treated before it gets infected!" She blurted, reaching up to poke at the area around it. "You should know that." She scolded. She looked down at her clipboard. "Good for you, I put you on the second first aid rotation. You're in after the really bad cases."

"Got some life left in me yet."

Sabrina cast a dubious eye over her uncle. "Yeah, which is exactly why you can't walk straight. Anyway, you're supposed to be getting a shower."

"Yes, Ma'am." Jake nodded.

Sabrina nodded, looking back down at her list. "Go away. I need to finish this."

As the night wore on and rotations went on, Sabrina went from one station to another, collecting weapons and armor to be cleaned and repaired, settle the small scuffles of exhausted men, and answering questions.

A death toll would have to be taken soon, and she wondered at the absence of Titiana. The Queen had always been a forceful presence in the camp, commanding respect and awe as a weapon against disorder. Maybe the queen had simply retired for the night.

The next day dawned brightly, heat flooding the camp and forming a cloak of misery over tired men. Most of the soldiers slept far into the day, recovering the best they could from exhaustion and terror. Relda took over as commander, gently prompting her men to do their designated tasks while Sabrina slept. The old woman ordered that one of the 18-wheelers be taken out to gather up the dead, a list of the missing given to each of the crew that had been picked out to retrieve them.

Puck and Mustardseed were still out for the count that afternoon, eventually reappearing in the evening to write up reports on their observations and predictions.

Puck looked at Sabrina, eyes bloodshot and purple bags under them. "Hey, Grimm. You see Mother?"

"No, I thought she was in her room." Sabrina shook her head. "I haven't seen her since you guys left a few days ago." She glanced sideways at him. It was hard to reconcile this shaggy haired boy with his arm in a sling with the warrior that she had witnessed, whether or not he knew it. She suppressed a shiver, understanding for the first time just how easily he could kill her. She had always known he was good, but he was better than that. He was dangerous.

She had nothing to fear from him. She knew that. But still…

"Really?" Puck frowned. "That's not like Mother. She's a control freak. She's usually out here bawling some poor guy out for being insufficient or something."

"Well, I don't know where she's at." A tiny niggle of fear was working its way into her mind. "When's the last time you saw her?"

"I dunno." He huffed. "At some point? She was fighting a troll, I think."

"But you haven't seen her since it ended?"

"No, I was a little caught up, Grimm." A rare flash of irritation.

"Okay, okay!" Sabrina stepped back, hands held up in surrender.

"I don't know where she's at." Puck looked around him, everywhere but at Sabrina. "I don't-" He stopped, choking. "I don't know."

"C'mon." Sabrina reached to take his good arm. "We can find out." The list of missing-

"Truck's back." Alec interrupted them. "Where do you want the cargo?"

The cargo. As if they had never been living and breathing, passionate about anything. They were just another chore to be taken care of now. "Unload them in the training ground." Puck interrupted her thoughts. "Someone will claim each of them."

"Sire…" Alec bowed, and left.

"Should we go look there first? Pay our respects?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah." Puck nodded slowly. "Mother can wait a while." His mouth tightened, and Sabrina guessed that that was not what he wanted to say at all. He wanted to find his mother. No matter how much the Faerie Queen terrified Sabrina, she was still Puck's mother.

Slowly, they made their way to the fenced in area. Mustardseed greeted them there, waving a hand in an approximation of a salute as he stared broodingly out. The truck was backed into the opening of the fence, groups of men carefully and reverently unloading the stacked bodies and placing them on the ground.

"It's not that many casualties, considering." He shrugged as they approached. He had an ugly bruise on one cheekbone, and a crutch was propped up against the fence next to him, his leg bandaged neatly.

"Considering." Puck tilted his head in agreement. "We were lucky this time." The three stood in silence as the truck was emptied, bodies laid down carefully on the ground, arms arranged over the chests of the owners. Sabrina looked up at the sky, the clear blue a wild contrast to the mutilated corpses being set down.

"Majesty." One of the workers made his way over, tipping his head. "My deepest sympathies."

"And mine." Puck placed a fist over his heart and bowed. "We have all lost someone."

"Yes, Majesty." The man bowed and turned away.

"What did he mean, his sympathies?" Sabrina asked.

"A man looks at his army as his family." Mustardseed explained. "We eat together, we fight together, and sometimes, we die together."

"Highnesses, my deepest apologies." Another worker passed them, nodding respectfully to the royalty.

"Okay." Sabrina nodded. She couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding, though.

The truck was nearly empty now, the last group of the dead being carried out. There was single blanket wrapped figure, carried by two men.

"Huh." Puck pointed it out. "Didn't all the higher up officers make it?"

"At the very least, they've been accounted for." Mustardseed nodded, a frown forming between his eyebrows. The men were making their way towards them, the figure held reverently between them.

Dread welled up in Sabrina as the two monarchs looked out blankly at the approaching group, which was growing as the other workers finished setting out the bodies.

"Majesties," One of them approached, and bowed, his knee touching the ground as he removed his cap. "Our apologies."

"What?" Puck asked blankly as the body was set down, and the group all kneeled on the ground, taking off their hats.

"Your majesties…" The man trailed off, then looked up. "The queen is dead."

~Sisters Grimm~

What is this, the longest chapter I've ever written? And after telling you that I might not post at all this week. Crazy me.

Anyway… Grim chapter, here. It wasn't any fun to write. I actually worked on it every night, and I still took hours and hours to finish it. I hope it feels heavy enough.

Review replies!

Arabella Quinn: Don't take this badly, but you sounded like you were exhausted when you wrote that first review. Puckabrina is coming, but I hate under-developed romance. Just a few more chapters, though, I swear by this laptop that I'm writing on. I just have so much to put into this story without adding the romantic subplot that sometimes it gets left behind. Hope you get over your writer's block! It's a killer, isn't it? And hey, why were dinosaurs so big? Because Jurassic times call for Jurassic measures. I swear I'm the only person who laughs at that joke. Geronimo!

FABULOUSGIRLFOREVER5555: Yeah, like I'd kill Puck. I love the snarky little brat. Don't worry, he's safe from me… Or is he? I won't lie, I did consider it, but I need him later on, so he lives. And, I hate to disappoint you, but I didn't have any intention of letting Sabrina sneak out after him. Sorry! But it is a military base, and I wanted to show how she was taking it seriously. I wanted her to be responsible and regain some of her trustworthy-ness after the Mirror fiasco.

LavenderMoonRose: I did debate on letting Titiana fight, but then, after her outburst in the war council, I figured that it was only right to let her go out. Plus, I liked the imagery of her leading an army into battle, flanked by her sons. It just seemed cool to me. Maybe I should stop watching and reading medieval stuff. It's giving me problems.

Okay, so I dunno what any of you thought of the chapter, so tell me! Actually, I expect some angry reviews for hurting every one's favorite characters.

Gonna make like a tree and leaf!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Titiana's funeral lacked all the grandiose that her husband's had had. She was buried with two hundred others, a few words spoken specially for her service and dedication, but ultimately seen as only another number.

No one but her sons had really known the deceased queen. She had kept all others at arm's-length, weary of a world full of inexperienced people. She was not pitied, or mourned, only respected for her life and the choices that she had made. She was alien to most.

But not to Puck or Mustardseed. The favorite parent, esteemed and adored even when she lectured them, she was all they had left of a time before their own. Parentless for the first time, lacking the guidance that she had provided them with, both of them lost a crucial member of their family.

Unlike Oberon's death, which had given them guilt along with sorrow, her death handed to them anger. Puck became a more determined general, unforgiving to his soldiers and oppressing to those who disappointed him. Mustardseed threw himself into preparations, going unseen for days as he attempted to get everything done.

Both Faeries were given a wide berth. Soldiers scattered when Puck left the house, or became so focused on their tasks that they tripped over their own feet as they hurried to get away from him. He snapped at those who didn't meet his impossible standards, yelled at everyone, and sulked when there was nothing to take his anger out on.

Sabrina avoided him just as much as anyone else. She couldn't deal with this like she had Oberon. Puck and Mustardseed didn't want to be comforted. They wanted to be mad, to inflict the pain that they felt onto the enemy to make them pay for the grief that they had been caused. She felt guilty every time she ducked when he passed, worse than the time that she broke her sister's favorite doll, but she wasn't brave enough to face him.

And he still scared her. She couldn't shake the memory of his fighting, and the complete coldness that he had displayed. He hadn't even been phased by the projectiles hurled at him, had handled them the same way he dealt with Sabrina's first clumsy attempts at attack. He was terrifyingly powerful.

Besides, it wasn't like she had a lot of time to go running after angry rulers. She was organizing watches, trainings, and a million other little things that Puck and Mustardseed had seen to before. With both of them put out of commission, she found herself scrambling to get everything done. She wondered why none of the older and more experienced Everafters didn't contribute until she realized that they had depended on the brothers for this war just as much as she had, and so they had even less of an idea about what was going on. She began to wonder what all those Councils were good for if everyone was so oblivious to what was going on around them.

Charming forged on with her. He valiantly attempted to organize war councils without the help of the Faeries, but it quickly became evident just how much relied on them.

Mirror was no help to her. He could only listen, and offer small suggestions, but he wasn't the support that she was used to. So she talked to him more instead of less, desperate to feel the same connection that she had with the princes. And slowly, he became better at letting her rant without asking questions. He let her get her frustration out of her system in the short snatches of time that she got with him. She was grateful, and it was wonderful of him, but it wasn't what she needed, and she knew it.

And one day, Sabrina got angry.

It had been a long day, 18 hours of constant motion, a desperate attempt to organize and carry everything out on her own. The camp was growing uneasy with the lack of leadership in addition to their grief, her head pounded, her feet ached, and she had forgotten to eat all day. She hadn't had a bath in a week, she was out of clean underwear, and to top it all off, there was still no electricity. She had collapsed into bed, only to realize that she should get up and brush her teeth. For some reason, that set her off more than anything else.

Anger might not have been the proper emotion. After all, she knew what it was like to lose your family. But _damn it all,_ she hadn't fallen apart like this. She had started on something else, not wallowed in her misery. How dare they both just drop everything and everyone depending on them!

She got back out of the bed, throwing her blankets back, snatching up her sword, and stalking down the hall to the Faerie's room with new found energy. Each step only fueled her rage, until she stood in front of their door, quivering with suppressed emotion. She rapped on the door, hard and incessant.

When there was no reply, she shoved the door open, ready to yell at both of them for ignoring her. But the room was unsatisfyingly empty. Sabrina glared at the wall and kicked the nearest bed, successfully stubbing her toe, but without relieving her frustration.

She reversed course, heading for the stairs and the weapons bunker. If she couldn't find at least one of them there, she'd check the grave site, but they had avoided it as if though it were poison. Her bet was that Puck at least could be found hacking at things in a field, or hiding from his responsibilities in a tree.

She was right. He wasn't in the bunker, but out in the training field, swinging desperately at a fence post. In the moonlight, the sword was a beautiful extension of his arm, fluid as his own movements as he took out all his anger on a chunk of wood. She suppressed a shiver of fear.

Damn it all. She shouldn't be scared of Puck, of all people. He wouldn't hurt her, and she could yell at him without any danger. Besides, he more than deserved it at this point.

"Yo." She shouted, heading for him, prepared to shout her frustrations out at him until she felt better. "Where have you been?"

He paused, setting the sword against his side. She could see his shoulders heaving as she got closer. she was unprepared when he turned around.

He had been crying. She could see it, even with just the moonlight to see by. Tear tracks gleamed wetly on his face, but he seemed to be done for the most part. It wasn't fair to yell at him. She knew that. He was scared, and alone, and she shouldn't make him feel worse. He didn't need someone shouting at him. He needed someone to listen to him for once. How many times had she confided in him? At least this once, she could return the favor and be the understanding one.

"What, Grimm?" He wasn't snapping at her; not like he had been the past few weeks. Instead, he only sounded defeated. He wasn't angry right now, just tired of grief and being alone. It made it easier to approach him.

Sabrina stopped, looking him up and down. "Wanna fight?" She offered finally, already knowing the answer.

"Not really." Puck shook his head, letting his blade drop to the ground. "'M tired of it." He slid down to sit next to it. Sabrina stood for a moment, then sat down next to him, setting her own sword down.

"Yeah, me too." She leaned against him, pulling his arm around her shoulders. He was warm, sweaty with the heat of the exercise he had given himself attacking the post. She sighed, nestling into his side. She had missed him over the past weeks. She had never really realized that he was her best friend in addition to everything else. She sighed, tilting her head up to look at the stars. Puck leaned into her, dropping his temple against her head. He sighed, and if there was a little bit of a sob in it, well… She didn't have to notice it.

They sat like that all night, leaning up against a wooden post and just looking at the stars together until the sun rose. There were none of Puck's confessions as there were with his father's death. Sabrina thought that his grief was too deep and raw this time for him to try to talk about it. So instead, they sat. Together, and somehow, alone.

~Sisters Grimm~

Nothing is instant. Puck didn't immediately get back with the program. He was still prone to outbursts against the stupidity of his soldiers and their inability to perform perfectly. But he was making a visible effort, enough that there were no mutinous mutterings against his leadership.

One thing that had changed, though, was that now, every once in a few nights, he'd wake Sabrina up to go look at the stars with him. He'd just knock on the door, and fly them out to the outer perimeter to look up at the lights.

Sometimes she wondered if he did it because she didn't ask anything of him, or because he liked to spend time with her away from the hectic demands of a war.

Regardless, she never refused, just rubbed her eyes, glared at him, and took his hand. It was amazing as much as it was annoying. She didn't want to miss the hour of sleep, but she didn't want to ignore him either. So instead she downed an extra cup of coffee every morning before going out to her chores for the day. It wasn't as if though he had never sacrificed for her.

Mustardseed, on the other hand, was not undergoing any type of healing process. He spent hours locked in his small den-turned-office, scribbling in notebooks and plotting strategies. The only sign that he was even alive was the fact that new battle plans and statistics showed up on Puck's bed. Large black trash bags of discarded paper were hauled out of the room, the writing on the sheets nearly illegible.

Puck wouldn't let anyone disturb his brother. No one was to go inside the room without express consent, and certainly no one was supposed to interrupt him. He staunchly held that Mustardseed would know when to quit, and that it was best to let him work it out of his system.

Sabrina thought he was wrong and told him so.

But there was no denying that Mustardseed would not welcome interruption, so life continued around him. With Puck back, the war council was able to limp on. And limp they did. Bereaved of Titiana's considerable advice and air of command in addition to Mustardseed, their efficiency was cut nearly in half.

No one seemed to know quite what to do without them. Strategies were suggested, written down on tablets, and the tablets lost. Suggestions were made, but not implemented. Complaints were voiced, but unattended.

Finally, Relda sat down at one of the meetings with a pad of paper and began taking notes, then filing them into cardboard boxes as the meeting progressed.

"Children," She smiled gently, "one would think none of you have ever organized a war in your life."

Her system lacked the elegance that Mustardseed implemented, but it was effective. Things weren't attended to quite as quickly as they had been before, but nevertheless, they did get done.

Better yet, Relda's actions sparked a revolution of work. Charming and Snow took over training some of the martial art courses, Robin Hood took it upon himself to train archers, and Geppetto put himself to use as Relda's secretary.

Slowly, the camp regained equilibrium.

Sabrina didn't like it. Shouldn't the Scarlet Hand have made a move by now? Why were they waiting to be attacked? If her original thought had been true, that they were allowing their enemies to make the first move, it had been made. The Hand had taken out a crucial member of the hierarchy, but then they gave them the time to recover? Surely no one was that stupid.

Why wait a month between battles? At this rate, the war wouldn't end until long after Sabrina's death. No one could just give up their life for that long. Something had to be going on. But what? What was gained by letting their high-strung soldiers sit around, waiting for bloodshed? It nagged at her.

Unless… Unless the Hand was lulling them into a false sense of security by letting them set the battles on their own terms? Or at least something like that?

She made up her mind to bring it up at the next Council, but she never got the chance. The next day, battle came to them.

It started at 2 am in the morning. Shouting slowly brought Sabrina to consciousness, but what really woke her up was the hammering on her bedroom door.

"Grimm! Get up!" Puck's voice drifted through the door. Sabrina stumbled to the door, rubbing sleep out of her eyes with one hand, pawing for her sword with the other.

"Wha-" She yawned as she opened the door, "Was' goin' on?" Her eyes widened as she took him in. Blond hair disheveled, sword unsheathed in one hand and wearing pajama pants, he stood in her doorway.

"You wanted to fight? Here's your chance. The Hand is a mile out; we're riding out to meet them." He snatched her hand and dragged her down the hallway. "You're going to direct the witches." He stopped to look at her, eyes hard. "It should be fairly safe for you." He swallowed.

"Great." Sabrina nodded. "Let's get going then, shall we?"

"Sabrina," Puck stopped, and looked over his shoulder, jaw working. "Sabrina, it was Mother's positioning. So don't get overly confident, okay?" He looked at her, eyes desperate for her to understand the danger he was asking her to put herself in. Well. She knew what she was doing, and it wasn't going to be sitting around camp and twiddling her thumbs.

"Yeah, got it." Sabrina nodded again, freeing herself of his grasp. "Move already. We've got people depending on us, right? Don't worry about me, take care of them."

His smile was strained, but visible. "Awesome. Let's kick some ass." He took her by the hand again and led her out of the house, towards the assembling army. She could see that some of them were still in their pajamas, rubbing sleep out of their eyes and glaring blearily around.

He dropped her off at the west gate, with a group of about a hundred magic wielding Everafters. "This is Grimm. Grimm, this is your group. You keep them in the back, right in front of the archers. Spells can go a distance."

And with that, he disappeared, presumably off to find his own squadron.

"We get Sabrina Grimm?" One of the wizards edged forwards, peering at the blonde teenager. "Hmm. Thought you were older, dear."

"Oh, hush." One witch, a curvy beauty, smacked him upside the head. "Better her than you, goofy." She peered closely at Sabrina. "Ah, yes. One of my own wardings." She smiled. "And one of my better ones, to boot. Do you have any idea how powerful you are, my dear?" She continued without letting Sabrina answer. "Oh yes, you could win the war on your own. I'm Morgana LeFay." She introduced herself. "And we are honored to follow the daughter of Henry and Veronica Grimm into battle."

"This slip is the daughter of the Grimms?" The wizard peered at her with more interest.

"Oh, honestly, Mordred." Morgana shook her head. "You'll have to excuse my son. He can be a little slow on the uptake."

Sabrina nodded, wordless. "Uh, thanks?" She offered. Morgana nodded, smiling once more. "Uh, Puck said that he wants us behind the foot soldiers and the cavalry, but in front of the archers. So I think our best bet to hit the enemy is to start off before the armies can get close to each other. We'll want to start with the first lines, give the Everafters behind them something to trip over. Once the armies start fighting, we need to hit the middle of their pack. Don't throw just anything into the middle of the fighting. Our soldiers have a better chance without dodging the missiles of their own allies. The archers would be better for picking them off in the middle of the fight, anyway. Who has the longest range spell?"

"That would be my group." One woman lifted a hand, and pointed out five of the assembled magicians. "Roberta, Castilla, Ruby, Jonathan, and Birdy."

"Great. You go first. Toss them as far as you can, cause some mayhem. For the closer range weapons, get the front lines, okay?" There were murmurs of agreement. "Charlie Weasley, Mordred and I will keep guard so that you guys can get as much done as possible."

A sharp whistle broke through the camp, and Sabrina jerked her head up. Puck hovered above them, sword held tightly in one hand. "Got your strategies? Too bad. Let's get moving, people!" He darted over the wall, a herd of tiny lights following him. The army followed him on foot out through the gates.

As Sabrina directed her troops, she looked around. Dismay filled her. They couldn't win. Not as tired and unprepared as they were. But they couldn't let the Hand get near to the camp, or else they'd be ruined. She could see Charming ahead of them, half his hair plastered to the side of his head as he yawned without bothering to cover his mouth.

Sabrina turned her attention back to the wizards that she was leading. They seemed content to follow her now that they knew who her parents were. At least they seemed more awake, although she suspected that it was because of small spells more than anything else. A few of them were muttering under their breath to each other. She hoped it was because they were planning an attack together, not protesting her command.

Twenty minutes later, the army was in formation, set up to Puck's specifications. The Hand was only a few hundred yards away when he dropped down next to her, tucking in his wings as he looked out at the group. They gazed out at the assembled armies, the advancing enemy with their torches, shining dimly in the faint light they provided.

"Well, Grimm." He looked at her, unsmiling. "You still want to do this? It's not too late to leave."

"What do you think?" Sabrina punched him in the arm. She ignored the twitching in her stomach, the rising nerves. It was one thing to practice, another to see battle, and, as she was finding out, yet another thing to actually fight. Puck didn't need to know how she felt about it.

"Yeah, I thought not." He reached out and squeezed her hand, a desperate pressure to make sure that she was still there and alive. "Wish you would, though."

"No, you don't."

"Guess not." He shook his head. Sabrina looked down, and realized that they were both still in their pajamas.

"We got a chance?" She asked quietly, pretending not to see the ears of the soldiers around them straining for an answer. She wasn't sure that she wanted to know.

"Always got a chance, Grimm." He replied. "Just some chances are better than others."

"Thanks, Yoda. How good are our chances, then?" She rolled her eyes. The bickering was calming. Normal.

"Weeelll…" He drew the word out, then shrugged. "Even. We're trained and ready, even if we were caught with our pants down. They've got the advantage of timing, and possibly of weapons. But they're more brutal, which-"

"So you don't know." Sabrina interrupted.

"You never know until it's over. And even then, you might still not know."

"Quit it with the philosophy and give me an answer."

"Nope." He shook his head. "Don't know, but I'm optimistic."

"Good." She gave him a shove and freed her hand. "Get back to your men, idiot."

He saluted. "Yes, ma'am." He grinned at her, then hesitated, before leaning forward.

His lips brushed her cheek, and he was gone, off to fight.

Like every clichéd heroine in a book, Sabrina found herself raising a hand to touch her cheek. She stopped herself, feeling foolish. Touching it wouldn't make the kiss come back.

She turned, and found the magicians grinning at her.

"Well, finally." Mordred rolled his eyes. "That only took forever. How long have you two been dancing around each other?"

"Oh, about a year if the rumors are true." One witch giggled. "And believe me, they're innocently oblivious."

"Oh, shut up and get to work." Sabrina huffed. They didn't have time to waste on silly rumors. They had a battle to fight.

And maybe, a future after that.

~Sisters Grimm~

Huh. That would actually be a good ending line. Or a really bad one. Who knows?

Yeah, chapter's over. And it was shorter than the past few to boot. Sorry.

Finally got some Puckabrina action, though! Only been building up to it for 24 chapters… Hope it doesn't disappoint! I think it was time for some, but don't even think that they're going to be all lovey-dovey after this.

Okay, so you guys were very generous with your reviews this week. Thank you! I enjoyed reading every single one of them, and to show it, I'm replying!

Divergent Raven: You have no idea of how obnoxiously proud I am of that little line from Mirror. "Wait, there's a battle going on? No one tells me anything!" (I'm paraphrasing, obviously.) I really liked his character in the book, but, well, his reasoning for starting the war in the first place was glazed over. I'm trying to add to it, and flesh him out some. I too am very glad Puck made it out okay. He almost didn't. I seriously considered wounding him pretty badly.

Guest: Ha! That's actually a good point. And to add insult to injury, Peter Pan is in Once upon a Time. I should put that in though. May I?

Guest: Mirror's betrayal… I'm still working out the kinks. Obviously, it has to be great, but really, he's not in the story enough for it to be really hear rending. Not yet, anyway. We'll see. And honestly, Titiana was just getting in my way. She had to go. She was a very loose end, but she could add character development very easily. So her death was not without purpose. Glad you liked the chapter!

ShoreEvee: So you know how you said you'd like to see Puck kidnap Sabrina? Well, I didn't want him to get beat up too badly, so I decided to not to. Glad you're enjoying the story!

Quillandspindle: As always, it was a delight to get your review. Although I think the character development in this chapter left something to be desired. It felt as if it was too easily resolved, and I need to add to it. And, oh, Mirror. He's a sneaky one, and poor Sabrina. She's so trusting and lonely… I can't wait to use that some more! As you can see, there was no civil war. I did consider it, but, alas, not to be. But Sabrina, Puck and Relda are all working together, so we'll see how that goes. And, actually, I've been waiting to let Mustardseed snap. Again. He's very organized, and I can see something like his mother's death causing his at least momentary downfall. Again, thank you for your review! It was very helpful.

Arabella Quinn: As you can see, Puck and Mustardseed did not react well. At all. Poor boys. Thanks for reviewing!

Guest: You have no idea how nice it is to read the words, "I have literally gotten obsessed with this story." Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I hope you liked this chapter!

IAMAGUEST: At your request, Sabrina's wariness of Puck continues. I agree that it is awesome. I don't think enough people realize that Puck is as old (if not older than) recorded history, and that he could be impossible to really know, especially over the course of just a year. And did you know that you were the only one who commented on Charlie's line, "Constant vigilance". So good work, my fellow nerd!

OakeX: I actually have two little brothers, and their fights used to be very one-sided. But now the younger one has gotten his growth-spurt, and suddenly there are a lot less fights. About the war action: Yeah. I read it, I watch it. Actually, I watch it more than I read it. Medieval movies are cool. And, unfortunately, the only way to get good at writing it is to practice. And practicing writing those scenes is hard. I think we are both completely swamped. I don't know what you're doing, but I have to scramble to find time to write these chapters. And thank you for the compliment! Relda is very dangerous in her sweet, old lady way. She knows all. Thanks for reviewing! I was glad to see them in my inbox.

Anyway, got to go. Life to live and stuff to do. All that nonsense that I don't want to be reminded of.

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The armies had come to standstill.

The two bodies of men stood across from each other, waiting. Sabrina wasn't sure what they were waiting for, exactly, but she could feel the tension rising off of them all, friend and foe alike. She was willing to bet that the Hand had not expected them to be ready so quickly, but weren't going to treat it as a set-back.

She knew that Mr. Canis and Jake were down there with everyone else.

"Ready yourselves." She commanded her troops. The sword in her hand trembled, anxious sweat beaded on her forehead. Behind her, she heard Morgana's group crouch into position, the rustle of fabric as they crouched, waiting for her next order. "Now." She hissed.

Over her head, balls of fire, volleys of arrows, several multicolored streaks of light, and a pulsing energy arced into the front lines of the enemy. Screams erupted over the quiet field from one side, triumphant yells from the other.

"Fire again." Sabrina hoped she sounded calm, even though she could feel her pulse jumping. A second attack was launched, once more into the ranks of the Hand. But now they were milling, shrinking back from the magical attack, willing to let others receive the brunt of it.

Puck's army began to charge in the confusion of their enemies, lunching to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them.

"Again, this time for the front middle!" Sabrina shouted. Once more, she watched as the spells arced towards the panicking soldiers. "Fire at will, all magicians, and don't waste time." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clenching her hand around the hilt of her sword.

Below her group, the armies met with an audible clash. It reminded Sabrina of the time her parents had taken them to the beach in West Virginia. The waves had scared her then, with the way they crashed into each other with destructive force, one following another, and then another as if though it would never end.

This was almost the same, but instead of the water meeting a beach, it met waves that were set on going in the opposite direction. The result was terrifying.

It was also loud. Everyone could hear the shouts coming up from the field, the victorious whoops when someone killed an opponent, the screams of the dying. It wasn't anything like the movies had always portrayed it, with rousing music. This was dirty and real. And made even more real by the fact that this time, Sabrina was there to see it all.

More magical projectiles launched over her head, diving down to explode in the center of the writhing mass of enemy soldiers. Electricity crackled in her ear as a bolt of lightning streaked by, aimed precisely at one of the larger trolls.

But where, Sabrina wondered, was the counter force? She refused to believe that her group of witches and wizards would be ignored. They were dangerous, and terribly efficient. So when would they be on the receiving end? It couldn't be much longer. The initial shock was wearing off, and the Hand was pushing back into Puck's men. They were attempting to push them back, but thankfully, they were too well trained. They held their ground, and if one of the front men fell, someone else immediately sprang to take his place.

And that was good to know. But when would the battle come to her? She wasn't under any delusions. She knew that she wouldn't enjoy it when it did, but this standing and waiting had to be worse.

She got her wish not ten minutes later, when an orange streak of light pulsed into her soldiers, dropping one of the wizards. "Weasley!" Sabrina shouted.

"Protego!" The red-haired wizard pointed his wand, and the next spell bounced harmlessly away from the group, directed towards the sky where it exploded.

"We can't fight with the shield up." Sabrina called a ceasefire to her men. "Some of us are going to have to step outside of it. And work from there." She paused, gauging their expressions. "I'll take our farthest range fighters, two of them. You'll be working from right outside the shield, and I want you to dodge and go out a few feet, make it harder for them to pin-point you. Got it? I'll be out there with you just in case some bozo got smart and snuck around to us."

Morgana and Ruby stepped forwards. "We've got the most accuracy with long distance." Morgana said confidently. "We know what we're doing."

Sabrina nodded shortly. "Good. I want you to find the guy aiming at us and take him down. There's only one kind of spell work, so I'm thinking it's all from a single fighter. Let us out, Weasley."

As soon as the protective shield was down, the three women ducked out. Charlie re-raised the shield, saying, "Kick their arses, yeah?"

Sabrina nodded, and gave him a thumbs up. "Okay, you know what to do?" She asked the other two.

"Yes, Miss Grimm." Morgana nodded.

"Great." Sabrina backed up, leaving the two witches to it. Their eyes narrowed as the next spell came towards them. Morgana crouched to the ground, putting her hands flat against the dirt while Ruby raised her arms above her head.

Sabrina looked away from them, trying to ignore the light seeping into their hands. Puck had told her that magic required a source of power, but she thought that he had been generalizing. Some spells did, but the simple ones that they had been doing just minutes before? Probably not. There was no denying now though, that the witches were harvesting the power off of something much greater than themselves.

The battle was raging, although neither side seemed to have gained ground. One figure was literally throwing enemy soldiers left and right with giant, clawed hands. It also had ears and… Was that a tail? She looked away, unnerved by the ferocity of the creature, scanning the skyline behind the witches instead. Nothing.

She looked back at the witches. Morgana was practically glowing now, while Ruby was shrouded in shadow. "Ready now?"

Morgana looked at her. Her eyes were pure white, and she smiled. "I believe we are, Miss Grimm." She rose to stand, and took Ruby's hand. "Are you ready?"

"The wizard is there." Ruby pointed into the dark. "I can guide the shot if you take it."

"Very well."

Morgana reached out, her hand gently lax as if though she were about to touch a precious painting, as Ruby muttered an incantation. "Do it!" She screamed, and Morgana closed her hand into a fist.

All the glow left her, streaking in a ball of pure white energy up and over the armies, before splitting into two and diving before exploding.

Ruby closed her eyes as Morgana swayed, her energy apparently sapped. Sabrina glanced around nervously. The sounds of fighting were still loud, and the two women's calm was eerie in the face of it. "Yes, he is gone. We may continue."

Sabrina nodded to her fighters, and within moments, they were back in formation. As they resumed their work, Sabrina looked back down at the battle.

She couldn't see Puck anywhere, but then again, she couldn't see much. Only distinctive shapes were really visible, and even they were hard to make out. As it was, she doubted that she could have picked him out.

Sabrina sighed, scanning the area around the wizards and witches for attackers. They'd be stupid to try to sneak up without any real cover. Texas was flat and dry, there weren't any trees to hide behind or anything. She wondered how Titiana had even managed to get herself into any trouble from here.

Something stirred at the corner of her eye as she swept over the ranks of the firing archers. She snapped her head back and stared at the spot, ignoring everything else going around. Sure enough, whatever it was moved again. It was barely visible, just a shifting of shadows in the dark. Sabrina tapped Charlie on the shoulder. "Hey." She yelled into his ear over the noise of the fight.

He looked at her, then in the same direction she was staring. He squinted, peering into the dark. "Think there's something there?" He finally asked, apparently giving up on seeing it for himself.

"Think you can never be too sure?"

He nodded, and together they crept forward towards it. Sabrina loosened her grip on her sword, gripping it with both hands, scared of what they might find.

Something huge and lumbering leapt out of the shadows towards them. "Petrify!"

Charlie's spell missed it by inches, but they didn't have time to regret it. Whatever the creature was, it lunched at him, claws swiping. Sabrina screamed, and swung her sword, catching the beast's arm with the tip.

It howled in outrage, swiping at her as it changed targets. Charlie stayed down.

Sabrina jumped back as it advanced on her. There was no time to think, or to plan. There was barely even time to react. As the claws came at her again, she tried Puck's tested and true block, swing the sword in a downwards arc to cut into the thing's paw. It roared in outrage, but instead of retreating, sprung forwards.

She flinched back as it attacked again, and stumbled in the dark. With a cry, she landed on the ground, arms splayed. The beast grinned, bearing down on her, shaking the injured limb. She scuttled backwards, scrambling to keep a grasp on her sword. Terror blinded her as it suddenly sprung forwards, and in a final, desperate act, she lunged upwards, stabbing upwards as it fell forwards.

Something stung her cheek as the thing scrabbled in the dirt, trying to get away from the blade that had impaled it. But it was too late.

Terrified, Sabrina twisted the blade, pushing it further into the creature. Finally, it stopped moving.

Sabrina dragged herself out from under the heavy load, panting. She pulled herself to her feet, staring at her kill.

It was huge. Furry and filthy, it lay prone on the ground, blood leaking out in a puddle. Bat ears protruded from its head, but the eyes were large and blank, like a cow's, with a pig's snout set lopsidedly on its face. Sabrina gulped air, staring at it. Then she turned and puked.

~Sisters Grimm~

The battle ended not long after that, the Scarlet Hand's troops retreating as Puck's army chased them out. The witches and wizards mostly collapsed as soon as the retreat started, confirming Sabrina's theory that their magic drew from their energy. Morgana was barely conscious, waving her hand in acknowledgement when someone told her that it was over.

Charlie was okay. The creature had merely knocked him out. He'd have a few new scars, but they were nothing too serious.

The army more or less limped back to camp where exhaustion finally caught up to Sabrina. As the adrenaline wore off, she began to ache all over. She was sure that there were bruises all over her, and her cheek and thigh throbbed.

She didn't really care. All she wanted to do was collapse. So she did.

She didn't know where Jake or Puck or Mr. Canis were, but she couldn't stay awake. She curled up out of the way on the ground next to one of the Bunkers, out of danger of being stepped on, but close enough that if she was needed, she could be found. She fell asleep there.

She didn't wake up on the ground. She woke up in the infirmary, with Relda's disappointed gaze pinned on her.

"Wha'?" Sabrina yawned, moving to sit up. It was bright, wherever she was, with white walls. And it smelled funny, like rubbing alcohol and vomit.

"No, Liebling, you stay down." Relda pushed her back down and pulled the blanket back up over her granddaughter. She regarded her sternly.

"Why'm here?" Sabrina asked drowsily instead, snuggling down into her pillow. Something pulled on her cheek. "Ow." Sabrina winced, reaching a hand up to touch whatever it was.

"Don't mess with that, dear." Relda pulled her hand down to rest on top of the blanket.

"What happened?" Sabrina asked, more aware now. Not being allowed to touch your face had that effect. Granny didn't look as stern now. More… Worried.

"What do you remember, Liebling?" Relda frowned at her, settling back into her chair, but keeping a gentle grasp on Sabrina's hand. The dry warmth was comforting.

"Um… Going to sleep?"

"Yes." Granny nodded, face still tight. "Do you know where?"

Sabrina wrinkled her forehead, trying to remember. Had she gone to bed? Or… "On the ground?" She hazarded, finally. That was the last place she remembered, anyway. Settling down by the Bunker, and, and-

Relda nodded. "Indeed you did. On the ground, in the dirt, with scratches on your face and leg. That is inviting infection. You're lucky Mr. Canis found you."

"Scratches?" Sabrina struggled to keep up. "How bad?"

Relda's mouth thinned. "The nurses aren't sure yet, and the doctor won't say anything."

Panicked, Sabrina flailed to sit upright. Something tore hotly in her leg. "Ah!" Her hands flew to cover it.

Relda took a hold of her hands. "No, Liebling. It will feel better in a moment."

"But- But, Granny!" Sabrina shook her head, raising a hand back to her face, only to have the old woman grasp it once more. Her _face._

"Dearie, worrying about it won't make it any better or worse." Relda shook her head.

"It's my face!" Sabrina protested, pulling back. How bad could it be that no one would tell Granny? Or that she wasn't even allowed to see the damage?

"Yes, I know." Granny nodded calmly. Well, Sabrina was not calm. She was terrified.

She stared at her grandmother for a long second. She was so resigned to it. It couldn't be good. Sabrina started to cry.

~Sisters Grimm~

Eventually, Relda let her sit up and look in a mirror.

A sterile white bandage covered half her face, from right below her eye to the corner of her jaw. There was no hint of any damage underneath it. Just white blankness. Sabrina would have rather seen the damage.

"How many?" She finally asked, still staring into the mirror. The complete lack of any sign of damage was unnerving. She could feel it, the pain encompassing her entire cheek, but she had no evidence of how it looked.

"Three. They were all stitched by the best surgeon available." Granny offered.

"So I won't look like Frankenstein?"

Jake dropped in to visit her not long after that. He brought her coffee and, miracle of miracles, a fresh donut. She spent the majority of the visit staring at the scar he had on his cheek from the last battle. It had healed into an angry red scar, but it seemed to be fading into pink.

When he caught her, he smiled. She looked down, embarrassed. "It won't be that bad, Peanut."

"How do you know?" Sabrina asked quietly, desperate for some answer.

"I just do." He kissed her forehead. "And worrying won't make it any better."

Worrying wouldn't make it better. She knew that. And it wasn't like it was a crippling injury. It wasn't even really one that was going to be hard to work around or recover from. But it was her _face,_ and she didn't want scars.

One of the nurses had smiled when Sabrina asked how bad it was. "Oh, dear. Someone didn't tell you that we wouldn't tell you, did they?" Sabrina nodded. "Dearie, ten to one we were swamped with patients, and they were just too busy to give whoever it was a full answer. No offense, but we did have higher priorities at the time. But let's see." She peeled the dressing back, nodding at the cuts underneath it. "Well. It will probably scar, I'm not going to lie about that. But it shouldn't be too bad. They were as neat as a cut from a claw can be, and left unagitated. It was sewed up nicely."

Sabrina still wasn't comfortable with it, but the answer was better than not knowing.

Puck showed up two hours later, hauling his brother with him. "Yo, Grimm." He smiled easily at her, dropping himself into the empty chair next to her bed and propping his feet onto it. "Had to fill out paperwork and make some orders. Why are you still in bed? Mostly hit your face, didn't it?" He was acting nonchalant, but worry was tightening his entire face.

"No. Got my leg, too, and Granny won't let me out of bed." Sabrina was sitting up this time, now that Granny was off babying Mr. Canis. Apparently he had been fighting, too. Sabrina wondered if he had been the wolf monster she had watched throwing soldiers around. It would fit, but it was strange to think that skiny Mr. Canis had transformed into that… Monster. "It's not too bad." She added when Mustardseed opened his mouth. "Just enough that it hurts to walk."

Mustardseed nodded, and perched on the end of the bed. Bags hung under his eyes, and he was drawn with exhaustion. "That's good."

"You okay?" Sabrina asked sympathetically. He certainly didn't look it.

"He's not the one in a hospital bed." Puck snorted, examining his fingernails.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mustardseed glared at him, crossing his arms in defense. Tension was rising rapidly between the two monarchs.

"What do you think it means?" Puck asked evenly, still focused on his fingernails. Sabrina wanted to smack him, get him to pay attention to his brother before it erupted into a fight in what was basically a giant hospital room.

"I think it means you owe me an apology for not telling me about the fight last night." Mustardseed narrowed his puffy eyes, glaring at his seemingly relaxed brother.

"Mm. And why would I tell you? You've been Kind of out of it for weeks now. You would have gotten killed. What makes you think that'd I sign you up for that?" Puck slid his feet off the bed and leaned forwards, hands clasped between his knees. Mustardseed leaned forwards to meet him.

Sabrina glanced between the two of them. "Hey, guys-"

"Kind of out of it? You mean trying to beat the Hand as quickly as possible?" Mustardseed hissed. "I thought that's what we were supposed to be doing."

"Yeah, well, not the way you're doing it." Puck snapped. "And don't call it that. We both know that you feel guilty over Mother's death, because, oh yeah, we hadn't defeated the Hand before we fought a single battle."

"Grief is not guilt. And I notice you don't seem too broken up, brother dear."

"You think I don't feel it?" Puck laughed, but it was a broken sound. "Yeah. You're right. I'm not dying in it, but I am drowning. You? You're dying."

"No. No, I'm not."

"Really? What do you call locking yourself in your office? Forgetting to eat, sleep, brush your freaking teeth? 'Cause it ain't called swimming."

"That's working to end the war. Which we should have been doing all along, instead of playing stupid little games."

Sabrina felt very small between the two snarling Faeries. She had never actually seen them fight. She knew when they did, sure, but she had never been there. She just forced them to make up in the long run. But this was bigger than anything she had ever known them to fight about.

"Maybe, but that's not responsible."

"If you knew what responsibility was, you wouldn't have taken her out and put her in Mother's place! Were you trying to get her killed?" Mustardseed swept a hand to encompass Sabrina and her injuries.

"No, responsibility would have been getting you to go. But Sabrina had a better chance than you!" Now they were shouting.

The patients around them were staring at them.

"Guys-" Sabrina tried again.

"Tell yourself that, Puck. Admit it, you wanted to see how your favorite pupil would do when put to the test. And you were thrilled when you found out that she took down a hobgoblin by herself. You wouldn't have been that proud if anyone else did it."

"Anyone else wouldn't have been a human with no experience!"

"You don't miss Mother. You've found her replacement already." Mustardseed spat. "You found her a long time ago." He stood up and stomped out, leaving Puck to stare out after him, pain etched on his face.

"You knuckleheads." Sabrina groaned, glaring at the staring audience. She took satisfaction in the fact that they all looked quickly away. "Seriously?" She turned her attention back the Faerie sitting beside her.

"Seriously what?" Puck dropped his head into his hands. "Ugh."

"Neither one of you should have said those things to each other, idiot." Sabrina reached out to whack him upside the head. Those idiots. "You know, for as many years as you two have between you, I'm surprised that neither one of you have any wisdom when it counts."

"You think he was right?" Puck's voice was muffled.

"No." Sabrina shook her head. "But I don't think you were either. Give it a couple of days, and apologize. Get Rapunzel to talk him into sleeping tonight, I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"It's not that simple, Grimm." Puck looked up at her. "Dad didn't really pay much attention to either of us, but I was Mother's favorite."

"And it stings that you're doing better than he is." Sabrina finished. "He's lost. You're his big brother, all he has left, but he's not all you have left. And that's not a bad thing. But you've been paying more attention to me and this whole war more than him for months, and he's beginning to feel like he got replaced at some point, and he doesn't even know when." She added as he opened his mouth to protest. "He's lonely, and he needs you."

Puck looked at her for a long second, tilting his head. "You know, for someone as ugly as you, you do come out with some intelligent stuff."

Sabrina whacked him. "Yeah, yeah. Idiot. Just get me out of here at some point, okay? I'm tired of the hovering."

"Deal."

Sabrina itched to ask him about the kiss the night before. She wanted to know why he did it, and she wanted to know now. But… It wouldn't have been right. He had just fought with his brother. It was time to give Mustardseed some space in his brother's head.

Besides, she knew she'd visit the prince in a couple of days. Repairing this relationship was more important at the moment. And if they needed some time together… She could wait. They had given her enough that a few weeks was nothing to be begrudged.

~Sisters Grimm~

Mustardseed was willing to see her three days after the disastrous fight. She limped up to his bedroom door, knocking lightly.

"Come in." A soft voice gave her permission.

Rapunzel was sitting next to Mustardseed, rubbing gentle circles into his back as he scribbled in a notebook. He was hunched forwards, seemingly ignoring his girlfriend.

"Hey, Sabrina." The red-headed princess rose to greet her. "Are you going to talk to him?"

Sabrina nodded.

"Good. I've been trying to, but… well. I didn't stop him before." She fidgeted, looking guiltily down at her shoes.

"None of us did." Sabrina shrugged, leaning against the doorframe to rest her leg.

"But I should have." Rapunzel protested. "I'm his girlfriend!"

"And I'm his friend, Puck's his brother. You're not the only one to blame." Sabrina felt a pang at the words. It was true. She should have stepped in earlier.

Rapunzel smiled in sympathy and slipped out the door, closing it gently behind her.

Sabrina limped forwards, settling herself on Puck's bed, directly across from the busy Faerie. She reached out and tugged the notebook from his hands, glancing at it. Lines of rambling thoughts covered the page, and she grimaced as she set it aside and looked him in the eye. "So… Rough time?"

He had folded in on himself when she took the notebook, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Yeah." He rasped. He sounded like he hadn't drank anything all day.

Still, he looked a little better than when she had last seen him, as if though someone had bullied him into fresh clothes and a shower, but Sabrina doubted that he had gotten any sleep since she had last seen him. "I figured." She pushed her bad leg in front of her, wincing.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. He wasn't looking her in the eye.

"Course. I've gotten worse than this in gym class. But are you alright?"

"I wish everyone would stop asking that." He sighed, bunching his hoodie pocket into his hands. "I'm-"

"Very obviously not." Sabrina finished for him. Finally, he looked at her, surprise showing. "No one expects you to be, you know. Puck isn't, I'm not. Losing your parents is hard, no matter what way they go, or if you've got a chance at getting them back."

"But we're going to get your parents back." He was processing her words slower than usual. She could probably get him to go to sleep within the hour.

"But they're not here, are they?" Sabrina shifted, lifting a hand to scratch at the bandage on her face before she caught herself. "I know my parents and brother and sister are all okay. I can carry on as much as I need to and more, because I know can get them back if I work for it. But that doesn't mean I'm alright. So how can you be?"

He looked blankly at her. "I'm sorry."

"About what?" Sabrina asked in confusion.

"The- the scars." He said in a pained voice. "If I had thought-"

"I don't want an apology. I want you to get better." Sabrina shook her head. "I'm not trying to guilt you."

Mustardseed nodded wearily, leaning back to rest against his pillows. He stared at her for a second, then shook his head. "I don't-" He broke off in a yawn. "I don't understand."

"Understand what?" Sabrina asked gently.

"Puck. You." He wearily flapped a hand. "Don't get it. Kinda opposites, an'- a'n the same." He was trailing off in the middle of sentences now. "Dun't like."

"You don't like Puck? Or me?"

"Dun't like together." He yawned. "I did, but now I don't. Too human, too Everafter. Won't work."

Sabrina suddenly knew what people meant when they said they felt a pang in their hearts. "Oh."

"An' you're not mad at me. At all." He blinked at her. "I hurt you, an' you just take it."

"Okay, I think it's time for bed." Sabrina pushed herself up to pull the blanket up to his chin.

"Don't take it wrong." He murmured. "I love you. Both. But… But you'd ruin each other. He loves you best anyway. Doesn't matter." He yawned again, curling up and pulling the blanket around himself. Within minutes, he was asleep.

Sabrina was reeling. She stared at the sleeping Faerie for a long second. Too human? Too Everafter? What difference would that make? Everafters were just immortal hu-

Oh. She could have smacked herself.

Mustardseed was jealous. He had to be. He thought that Sabrina was trying to pull Puck away from him. She snorted. Yeah, like that would happen. Those two were as inseparable as the moon and the stars. What an idiot thing to assume.

She shook her head fondly at the sleeping prince, and began to limp to the door. Something niggled in her thoughts, though, even as she closed the door and made her way to her own room. Mustardseed had said that they would destroy each other. That didn't exactly sound like jealousy.

It sounded almost like a warning.

~Sisters Grimm~

Hey, y'all.

You would not believe how very long it took to write that battle scene. They're hard. Like really, really hard.

Anyway, here are your review replies!

ShoreEvee: You're probably very mad at me right now. Puckabrina has happened, but now it faces obstacles. Sorry. But at least you got a chapter, right?

Divergent Raven: You are very right. I put romance into everything very slowly because I already have a ton of stuff going on, specifically in this fic. Plus… Well, I just hate to rush relationships. I feel like it should be a slow build-up, to really make sure that they like each other. And relationships are stronger if you're friends before it anyway. Thanks for reviewing!

Guest: I'm beginning to think that if I stopped writing, I'd go nuts. I never stop thinking about how to build this up and keep it moving, or what they should do next. Believe me, you're safe as far as that goes. Thanks for the encouragement!

Guest: You're bloody brilliant. I hadn't even thought of putting Mr. Canis in, or letting Sabrina see him fighting. So I added it. Thank you so much for the suggestion! I think it really added to his character. And Sabrina did get hurt. So good guess! And thank you for reviewing!

Quillandspindle: I know I already got back to you, but I didn't PM you back so here it goes: I've actually never been a big supporter of Daphne and Mustardseed together. But I do like the idea of an older Daphne and Mustardseed ganging up together to pick on and prank Sabrina and Puck. I really like the idea of them as friends.

IAMAGUEST: Okay, so I actually did consider using the poison apple before, but I think it would just feel kind of forced in this fic. I could do a oneshot? Would that be suitable?

FABULOUSGIRLFOREVER5555: Well, glad to see you were so excited for my chapter! Mustardseed is still not fixed L Sorry about that. But I thought I'd leave that for Puck to do. Mustardseed needs his big brother, not Sabrina. Don't worry, his saving is coming. And never apologize for long reviews! They make me very happy. And we'll see about more stories if I ever finish this one. I just like to write them one at a time, so I don't get my details mixed up and end up writing the wrong storyline.

Anyway, I have to go. Life, and therefore duty, call.

'Til Next time!

-The Irish Lass


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Alright, Dearie, the bandage is coming off today!" The nurse, a plump motherly figure named Anna, chirped. "We'll leave the one on your leg, but the one on your face is gone." She beamed, as if though this were the best news in the world.

Sabrina fought a wave of nervousness as she nodded in silent agreement. It had been almost a week since she had woken up in the infirmary with her grandmother sitting over her. Now she was seated on the edge of one of the beds, as she had twice a day for the last five days so that someone could change the bandages on her leg and face.

"Ready, honey?" Anna reached forwards, pausing to let Sabrina deny or affirm her question. She nodded minutely, and the nurse clucked as she began to untack the tape. "You are a brave child. Most would be worried at the very least, but never a peep from you." She shook her head admiringly as she wadded the gauze and tossed it into the trashcan.

"Roll up your shorts?" She requested, smiling benevolently on her patient.

Sabrina complied, hissing as she carefully pulled the denim up to expose the wrappings. She hadn't even felt it when her leg was injured, but it had been the more serious of the two wounds, bad enough that the doctors had been seriously concerned about infection setting in. Still, among all the other wounded soldiers, she was hardly a main concern.

Or so she had assumed. It turned out that she was important enough to be moved to the front of the line. That, added to a Faerie King who demanded that she get the best attention, had gotten her priority care, whether or not she wanted it.

The wound was closed now, no longer staining the bandage red every time someone went to change it, but it still ached.

"Good, good." The nurse nodded. "In a few days, we'll be able to get rid of that, too. Won't that be lovely?" She didn't wait for a reply, but turned to pick up a mirror to hand to her patient. "There, now you can see your face. The doctors did a very good job taking care of it, let me tell you. It ought to have been much worse."

This was not very reassuring, but Sabrina took the mirror out of her hands anyway. A solemn face looked back out at her from the mirror. She could recognize the eyes, and the haircut, and even the shape of her face. But the three red scars that cut from her ear to halfway to her nose, were definitely foreign. "Worse?" She croaked finally, handing back the mirror. It couldn't get much worse than it was now. She would never look the same, not even with surgery.

"Oh, yes." The nurse sat down in her swivel chair, and clasped her hands in her lap, eyeing Sabrina studiously. "You have no idea how lucky you were, my dear. You could have easily lost your eye, had it become infected." She smiled gently. "It might seem terrible now, but wait until you see the real battle scars. Then you will change your mind."

~Sisters Grimm~

"Dearie me, Starfish." Mirror's eyes widened as he took in her appearance. "What on Earth did you get into?" He hurried to usher her into a chair, snatching a small ottoman for her to rest her leg on. He rocked back on his heels as she limped over, narrowing his eyes when she winced.

Sabrina cringed as she lowered herself into the armchair, but stopped quickly. It pulled too much on her…. Her face.

"Nothing much. Went to fight for the glories of Faerie, ended up with a little more than I bargained for. But hey, you should have seen the other guy." She joked weakly. She hadn't been able to find the time to go see Mirror since days before the fight, and now she was fighting guilt over it. Poor Mirror. No knowledge of what was going on unless someone told him. And she had abandoned him for weeks.

"They let you fight?" Something was bubbling in his eyes, hot and angry.

"Hey, they didn't let me do anything. I did it because I wanted to." Sabrina reached out to touch his hand. "And look, I'm fine." Except for the scars. "Lots of people were less lucky than me. Plus, there have been fights since, and I didn't go into them." This was true. Now that there had been two battles, it seemed that the war was getting started. There had been minor skirmishes almost every day, even if there hadn't been any more large-scale, call all the troops in from the fort, type battles.

"A lot of people have died, you know. And I could have been one of them. I'm not meant to withstand these types of fights, you know. That's for the Everafters."

"So why do they let you fight their wars?" Mirror demanded.

"Because I asked to." Sabrina stared at him. "Anyway, I've had better training than most of them. "Puck and Mustardseed made sure of that."

"Did they?"

"Yeah." Sabrina jumped on her chance to show him what she had meant. "They taught me how to fight, strategize, and organize troops. Believe me, they're not throwing me out there to get killed. Puck was pretty upset that they needed to have me fight to begin with."

"Ah." Mirror nodded, settling back in his seat, apparently pacified. "Good. I would be very sad to lose you, my dear." He smiled at her.

Sabrina grinned back, relieved.

~Sisters Grimm~

Despite his sleep, Mustardseed didn't seem to be getting any better. He refused to talk to Puck at all, remained stoic to Rapunzel, and only took Sabrina's suggestions when he was ready to collapse.

Puck was going nuts over it.

"I mean, he's getting worse, if anything." He stalked back and forth across the room, tugging absently at his hoodie sleeve.

Sabrina looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "You think." The king glanced at her, but she could see his eyes catch on her scars before he looked away. She shook her hair to cover them.

"No, I know, Grimm." He kicked out at the wall.

"Oi. We've only got one base." Sabrina reprimanded, scribbling her signature onto another set of documents. She was reduced to desk work until someone (Puck) deemed her leg able to handle fighting again. So here she was, a glorified secretary, attempting to sort through sets of meaningless numbers.

"Yeah, well, when you come up with a good solution to his moodiness, then I'll stop beating the walls." But he sat down opposite her, and took a stack of paperwork, grumbling as he searched for a pen amidst the battlefield of sorted papers.

"You could apologize." She offered, stapling together a stack of casualty predictions. They didn't look good at all. She frowned, glaring down at them. Little figures that represented lives, and the end of them. It felt wrong to simply report them and then try to figure out how to make the number smaller. Not disappear, because that was impossible.

"Why?" He huffed, making slash marks that she could only assume were actually check marks. His movements were short and angry.

"Because you told him he was being irresponsible and blamed him for the fact that I got hurt?"

"But it's true." Puck shook his head stubbornly, eyes still fixed on his paperwork. She knew he wasn't reading it. Idiot. "If he hadn't gone haywire-"

"You were doing the same thing." Sabrina interrupted. "The difference is that I gave you help. You were supposed to extend it to him." She sighed, wondering how she became counselor to a couple of morons who just needed to sit down and talk. "Idiots."

"Yeah, but's he's supposed to be-"

"Strong, invincible, reliable." Sabrina cut in again. "All the things that he thinks you are. So maybe you should do something about it. And I don't mean act like Mr. Macho, either." She looked out of the corner of her eye at him, wondering again what Mustardseed had meant when he said that they would destroy each other. She seemed to be holding them all together more than anything else.

"But I'm not!"

"And neither is he." Sabrina nodded. "Here, sign this."

"Yeah, okay, Ugly." Puck nodded, reaching out.

Sabrina flinched backwards.

"What?" Puck blinked at her.

"Nothing." Sabrina shook her head. "Just sign these, yeah?" She smiled weakly at him, pushing the forms at him now, instead of handing them to him.

He took the papers, blinking at her. "I didn't mean-"

"I know." Sabrina interrupted him, bending her head over the progress reports. She did know. But it didn't make it hurt any less.

~Sisters Grimm~

Sabrina was slowly getting better. The cane was gone (thank God. It made her feel like an invalid) and the bandages were coming off tomorrow. She smiled, stretching up into the July sun. It was a scorching Texas day, and the house was sweltering without any air conditioning. Not for the first time, and definitely not for the last, she cursed the lack of electricity.

But for now, it was okay. She was sunburned, her hair was filthy, but she could move again. It was amazing.

She grasped her sword, making her way to an unlucky fencepost. The leather grip was warm and comforting in her hands, a heavy and kind weight. It had been more than a week since she had been able to properly hit something, and something inside her was itching to be able to just take a swing and see what happened.

It wasn't long before she worked up a sweat, muscles that were far too used to being worked every day pleased to find themselves useful again.

Sabrina grinned, grasping the sword in both hands and swinging upwards. The momentum was too much, her leg unable to keep up quite as well as it had before. She fell to the ground with a thump.

"Damn it!" She hissed, pulling the leg towards herself. Hot tears sprung up, and she pushed them away angrily. This wasn't that big of a deal. There was no need to break down sobbing. Angrily, she pushed herself up, and began again.

She was interrupted a few minutes later by someone clearing his throat. She turned, hair sticking to her face, breathing hard.

Jake raised his eyebrows at her. She nodded, pushing the hair off of her face, before remembering, and leaving it where it was.

"What's up?" She asked, hoping to keep him from asking about it.

"The patrol came back." He informed her. He studied her for a second. She shifted under the weight of the stare. "They're missing three men." He continued, turning on his heel.

"Great." Sabrina huffed, hurriedly wiping her sword in the grass before sheathing it and running after her uncle. "Which group was this?"

"Troop C, I think."

"Damn." Troop C, like all the troops, was comprised of numerous fighters with varied specialties. It was also their lowest causality group. If they were getting hit hard… It wasn't going to be good for the rest of them, either.

~Sisters Grimm~

The causality predictions were proving unfortunately true as time unwound. There was unhappy murmuring in the camp now when the patrol schedules were posted, even though the groups were larger now to help combat the Hand.

"What I don't understand is how we're losing. At the very least, how are we losing already?" The Beast growled, tugging his beard. "We had training camps, the best generals in history…" He huffed and sat back in his seat, clearly at a loss for words.

"I think it is time to send our better fighters with the patrols. And more than one of them per team." Robin Hood was looking over the reports on the overall confidence of the army. Sabrina had assembled them as she sorted out the ever growing numbers of soldier quarrels. "These ambushes are quickly turning into smaller battles. And someday soon, they'll pick up our pattern, and then there will be a slaughter."

"We don't even have a pattern." Snow shook her head. "We arrange them at different times of day, and in different sections."

"That's the word, though. Arrange. And arranging means that there is a pattern, whether or not one of us recognizes it." Charming disagreed with his wife. "Someone else might."

"I think we ought to send the instructors, personally." Robin mused.

"You just want a chance to draw some blood." Little John rolled his eyes.

"Aye, and don't you?" Robin grinned up at his large friend.

"And how are we going to group these instructors?" Snow asked, drawing the men back to the issue at hand. "Afterall, patterns."

"We could do it randomly. Draw lots." Sabrina suggested. She was sitting beside Puck, in Mustardseed's place. He had seen no use to reserve a seat for his brother when it was obvious that he would not be coming. This told Sabrina how serious the matter was than anything else. To say that the brothers were fighting was like saying that the sun gave light. It was pretty obvious.

"That's true. But we need leaders who complement each other. Charming and I would simply butt heads, for example."

"That's because you're buttheads." Puck grinned, then sobered. "I agree. Charming and Snow, you know how to work together. Little John and Robin, you've been fighting together for what, seven hundred years? Charlie Weasley and Morgana," The witch batted her eyes at the wizard, who grinned wolfishly back, "No flirting. Work together. I want Four and Jacomb on another team, Grimm and me on the last. That work? Good. Onto the next order of business."

~Sisters Grimm~

Hey, guys. I know, I know, it's been a month. What have I been doing? College. Poor little Freshie me. I don't like it. Not enough time to write fanfiction.

But, if that's my biggest complaint, then…. I must be doing okay.

Oh, yeah! Before I forget, the cover art is by Lizalot on Deviantart! She gave me permission to use the image, and it reminded me so much of the part where Sabrina and Puck fly over New York (In like, chapter 2) that I had to use it.

Anyway, here are your review replies!

IAMAGUEST: Something is building up. Whether or not it's good… Well. We'll see. But yeah, thatnks for your review! Eventually I will write that story idea as a oneshot, but I am slightly overwhelmed at the moment, so it may be a while, okay?

ShoreEvee: Puck and Mustardseed fights always make me really sad. I want them to get along, but at the same time, I really don't want them to. You know? Thanks for reviewing, and sorry the chapter was so late!

Arabella Quinn: Yeah, I love Sabrina's scars. They seem kind of hardcore to me. She's not liking them though (and who can blame her?) I wanted them to sort of parallel Daphne's in the fifth book, too. But While Daphne was uncomfortable with them, I want Sabrina to grow into hers and be confident in them.

Multifandom29: Yeah, sorry, it took me what, a month to update? I've been kind of busy, but believe me, I returned to this as soon as I felt up to it. Thanks for reviewing! I really love reading them.

MispelydNayms: I may not have your username right. Sorry. Anyway, yeah, she will do the opposite. You got that right.

AubergineSnowdrop: And after that lovely review, I left you hanging for a month. Sorry. But I'm really glad you liked the scene with Sabrina and Mustardseed. It was a personal favorite to write. It's kind of emotionally charged, but I didn't want it to be sappy, you know? But thank you for reviewing, and I hope you liked it!

Okay guys, I've got an 8:30 tomorrow, so I gotta book. Be kind and review please! Even if I did leave you hanging for a month…. Did I say I was sorry about that yet? I really am.

'Til Next time!

-The Irish Lass


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"You did not tell me that I had to be on a horse." Sabrina grumbled flatly, looking up at the pony that Jacom was leading to her. It was no taller than she was.

Puck grinned unrepentantly. "Come on, who doesn't want to ride a horse at least once in their life?"

"I rode a horse once." Sabrina defended hotly, eyeing the brown pony nervously. It was standing still, looking back at her with gentle eyes as it munched its bit. She didn't trust it for a second.

"Was it one of those Shetlands that trots round and round in a circle on Coney Island?" Puck snorted. It was clear that he did not think that qualified.

"Yes, it was. But it was horse, and I was on it." Sabrina groused. Jacom made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort. "You shut it." She growled.

"Ah, I cannae blame the wee lassie. Ah'm not too fond of the beasts myself." Four stomped over, armor jangling. He had an axe in one hand, and a round shield in the other. Sabrina had to search for the name for a second before she remembered that it was called a buckler.

"And we don't ask you to be." Puck shrugged. "But she's got a bad leg, and the horse is her best option."

"Yeah, right." Sabrina took a step back as Jacom brought the pony closer. Her leg was nearly healed, so there was no way he was getting her to get on the animal. "Nuh-uh. I'm not-"

"Then you stay here." Puck interrupted, scowling. "You're not going to set back your recovery because you're too proud to get on a horse."

Sabrina gaped at him, but he was perfectly serious. There was no sign of a smile on his face. She turned back to the horse. "I hate you." She groused, edging towards the pony.

"No, you don't. Need a boost up?" His amusement was clear in his voice.

"You are entirely too smug. And yes, I do." Sabrina stepped closer to the pony. It regarded her calmly, twitching its tail. The saddle suddenly seemed twice as high up. "You know what, I think I'll stay home after all." She backed away. "You have fun without me."

"Grimm, if you don't get on that horse-"

"You'll what? Make me run extra drills?" She joked. "'Cause I'm running them all." It was true, and he knew it. She was back to training soldiers, running the Council meetings, and covering for Mustardseed. There were no other duties that he could give her.

"Nope." Puck grinned. "I'm going to make you."

"How, exactly, oh my king?" She asked sarcastically. An evil smirk worked its way across his face, and suddenly, his wings were out, fluttering in all their pink glory.

"You wouldn't."

"Do you think so?"

Sabrina glared at him for a moment, then turned back to the pony. "Someone tell me how to get on this thing."

After a few minutes of general confusion, in which Puck got 'accidentally' kicked in the stomach, Sabrina got the wrong foot in the wrong stirrup, and the pony stood calm through it all, she was finally perched on the saddle.

"You know, maybe you should have given me horse riding lessons before patrol?" She huffed, looking down at the assembled group. It felt like she was far higher up than she actually was. The pony shifted, and she clutched wildly for the saddle horn, ignoring the laughter of the men assembled below her,

"Wouldn't have been as much fun." Puck waved a hand, somehow swinging himself onto his own charger's saddle as he did so. It wasn't fair.

"Could you two stop flirting for three seconds?" Jacom mumbled, retrieving his spear. "Just kiss already."

"No comments from the peanut gallery." Sabrina snapped, flushing. She still hadn't talked to Puck about the kiss right before the battle, and she was beginning to doubt that she would.

"What's a peanut gallery?" Puck asked curiously, adjusting his sword so that the sheath wouldn't poke his horse.

"Look it up." Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Fine, grumpy. What bit you? C'mon, we're in the lead." He nudged the charger's side, and the beast broke smoothly into a trot, prancing neatly around the assembled group as its rider smirked.

"Awesome. How do you start this thing?" Sabrina asked, one hand desperately clutching the saddle horn, the other grasping the reigns.

Four grinned up at her, obviously pleased with his feet firmly planted on the ground. "You push your heels into the beast's flanks, and hold on tight."

"Her name's Cinnamon." Jacom huffed. "Stop referring to her as it."

Sabrina glowered, but tapped the pony's sides. Cinnamon obligingly started forwards. It felt like being on a boat. A boat that was trying to make a cruise through terrible waters. "I don't like this."

"That's cause you're not sitting right." Puck giggled as she bounced up and down in the hard saddle. "Try more like a squat."

"I hate you."

~Sisters Grimm~

The patrol went well. Peaceful.

Unfortunately, the ride did not.

Riding a horse was a lot harder than it looked. You had to sit just right in the saddle, and you had to keep a hold of the reigns, a hand free for your weapon…. And then you got saddle sores.

Long story short, Sabrina was not going to be getting back on a horse any time soon. Puck could try to keep her in the camp, but he would fail. She was not ever going to get on that blasted beast.

Relda had smiled softly at her as she limped past, and suggested that she take some aspirin. Jake had snorted, and asked what she thought she was doing when she got on the horse.

Mirror was less than impressed. "Why are they making you do their dirty work, Starfish?" He mourned. He was still upset about the scars, and the fact that Sabrina was limping.

"No one makes me do anything." Sabrina replied. "I do it because I want to."

"And the scars?" He asked gently, leaning forward in his seat.

"Are a consequence." Sabrina shrugged, flicking her hair to cover her face. "And anyway, we're losing numbers too fast to leave anyone out, especially a trained swordswoman."

"Are things really that bad that they would send a child out?"

"Children have been going to war since there were wars to fight." Sabrina shook her head. "Why should I be left out of it?"

"Oh, Starfish." Mirror shook his head.

Despite her brave front, Sabrina couldn't stop replaying the fight against the creature that had left her with her scars. The heavy weight, the terror, the blank eyes when she killed it. What had the creature been? Why had it been fighting to begin with? Did it have a name, or was it just someone's beast that they had ordered to kill?

It was giving her nightmares.

After another night of restless movement, of waking up and flailing to sit up, she finally visited the infirmary.

The infirmary building was still dealing out business, and keeping the nurses busy, but since the new patrols, there had been far fewer admittances. The same nurse who had been put in charge of Sabrina bustled up to her now.

"Hello, dear." She smiled. "Why are you visiting us now? Not that we aren't glad to have you."

Sabrina swallowed. "I can't stop thinking about it." She moved out of the doorway as someone came in, cradling his hand, grousing loudly to himself about training accidents and idiot pupils.

"Ah." The nurse nodded. "Come here." She led the way to one of the offices, and shut the door behind them. "That is, of course, perfectly normal. You were quite brave and it was your first kill."

"But I can't-"

"Can't stop thinking about how you killed something, how that swordplay is deadly." The nurse nodded. "And that's normal. I'd be worried if you didn't feel that way, to be honest, dear. Everyone gets it after the first battle. I can give you some sleeping pills, but do you want them?"

Sabrina shook her head. "I just- I want to talk about it."

"Then talk, honey. I have nowhere to be."

After that, it was easier. The nurse was adamant that it had not been her fault, but otherwise was quiet, just letting her patient spill out everything that had been bothering her. The nurse's last words of advice were, "Stop covering those scars, dear. There is no need to be ashamed of them, but all the reason to be proud of them. They are proof of your bravery, and they are a part of you."

This was harder to follow. Sabrina was happy to leave them hidden behind a curtain of hair, but she followed the advice, pulling her long hair back to display the blemishes. And within the first week, they weren't such a big deal. No one commented on them, didn't even really look at them.

Sabrina turned her attention to bigger matters. Coaxing Mustardseed out of his depressed coma, for one.

Mustardseed was still blaming himself for her injuries, and he was grieving over the loss of his mother. It was time to give him something to do.

"Hey, can you look over these reports for me?" Was the first question. And slowly, Mustardseed had taken them from her hands, and started to make corrections. Even as far out of it as he was, he still knew how to look over her work.

Puck got him to spar with him, saying that, "I need some practice. These morons don't know how to do anything."

It was slow going, but together, Sabrina and Puck worked to draw Mustardseed out, to return him to his position of general.

And then, the next battle came. And for once, it was their army attacking the Scarlet Hand.

~Sisters Grimm~

Yep, Cliffhanger!

I'm trying to get back into the swing of writing, but you guys need to be patient. These past few weeks have been hectic, but I think I'm settling into a routine now, so I can start writing again.

Sorry for the long absence, but I think I'm back.

And hey, I published a one-shot! It's called 'Fleeting Things' and I think it's pretty good. So if you want some Puck introspection, there it is!

Anyway, here are your review replies!

Quillandspindle: I'm glad you liked it so much! I was hesitant to scar Sabrina, but you made me think that it was a wise move.

ShoreEvee: As always, it's a pleasure to get your reviews! I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I hope that this one measured up to your expectations!

Arabella Quinn: Well, you told me that you were glad to have me back, and my immediate move is to leave the story hanging for weeks. But thank you for your review! I'm glad that you liked it. As you can see, I did not put in a break-down. Sorry, but I just… I didn't want that to be the way Sabrina handled this.

IAMAGUEST: Ah, yes, Puck's little insult. He's a little dense, isn't he?

ReadingTillMidnight: Here's your update! I hope it fulfilled your expectations!

Anyway, I gotta get going. Hope you all liked the update, and I'll try to be back in a few weeks.

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The battle was Puck's idea.

"We've been stalled here for months. We've all got things we need to get back to, and it's time to end this." His declaration was met with silence. Several council members shifted in their seats, but no one offered an opinion.

Obviously taking this as encouragement, the king continued. "If we keep sitting on our hands, we're going to run out of supplies. So far we've held out pretty well, but we don't have more incoming. So we need to find a way to end the war, and we need to use it."

Still no one spoke. The silence dragged on until Four offered an opinion. "We could launch our own attack at their camp. The scouts know the location, and Ah think it's time we gave as good as we got."

Mustardseed, finally returned to his seat, was shuffling papers now, looking for a map. Sabrina passed it to him, and he slid it to Puck, tapping an area.

"We know where the Scarlet Hand's camp is, and we know that it's crude, at best. We can take it by a storm tomorrow night." Puck proposed. "Our numbers may have taken a hit, but so did theirs."

"It's not like you to be hasty about striking up a battle." Charming noted.

Sabrina agreed. So far Puck had been more than willing to let the Scarlet Hand come to them, so why the change now?

Of course though, she didn't know much about how he thought these days. Ever since Mustardseed's prediction, she had been avoiding him. Tension had slowly built up between them, and now they were barely talking beyond the requirements of their positions. She missed their easy conversations, but everything was too complicated already. She didn't need to add a doomed romance to it.

"I'm not being hasty. It's been two months since the last battle. What war have you ever participated in that waits that long?"

"Never." Charming agreed. "But what if this is their plan? To wait and lure us out?"

"What do we gain by waiting on them? We're both locked here in an endless power struggle. It's time we threw them off and got home." Puck shook his head. Sabrina looked down at her hands. If this ended soon, she'd get her parents and Daphne and Basil back. She could go back to her life, as it was before this whole mess.

"I propose that we go at them in a three pronged attack." He continued. "Archers create chaos at the front of the camp, the magicians attack from the east, and those of us who use close range weapons attack from the west. According to the reports, the mass of the camp will be at the close range fighters' side, so what I'm relying on is the ability of the other two units to distract them. We'll attack at two in the morning, when the guards are at their most exhausted."

"I agree." Robin Hood nodded. "It's time to end this."

And so the camp went into a flurry of work. By the next afternoon, everything was accounted for, all the weapons sorted out. All that was left was to wait.

Sabrina paced nervously across the camp, checking and double-checking weapons and horses. Puck finally stopped her, grabbing her by the wrist and leading her to the house porch, where she could see everything that was going on. "You need to rest, too, Grimm." He sat down beside her, hunching forward and folding his hands. "You'll be in the close range ranks."

"I know." Sabrina nodded. "I signed up for that."

He nodded, his lips tight. "We need to talk." He said flatly.

"About what?" Sabrina turned to look at him. His eyes no longer got snagged on her scars, instead sliding smoothly from the ground to meet her own.

"About us." He rolled his eyes. "You've been avoiding me for weeks. Ever since-" He stopped, blushed, and continued, "-since the last battle."

Sabrina tilted her head. "You mean the-"

"Sure." Puck cut her off, now a thoroughly bright shade of Christmas red. "That." He added lamely. "Did you- did you want it?" He stammered.

Sabrina could feel her cheeks getting hot. She looked down at her hands. "Yes?" She offered, looking down at her hands.

He grinned, and Sabrina blushed harder, even as a smile began to curl its way across her face.. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" He looked like a nerd with an unlimited supply of cash in a comic book store now.

"Looking at me!" She laughed.

"Why?" And he kissed her.

~Sisters Grimm~

"Ready?" Sabrina hissed to her troops. They were crouched in the dark, outside of the Scarlet Hand's camp, waiting for Puck's orders. The camp had a crude wall of logs, standing upright like the forts in history text books. It also had a door, a drawbridge that, the spies had reported, was both locked from the outside and deadbolted from the inside. It was Sabrina and her men's job to get through it and let the rest of the army in.

Puck. Sabrina smiled just thinking about that afternoon. But now was not the time.

A light flickered on the right. "Now." She crept forwards, her men following her like a cloak of darkness as they snuck towards the camp entrance. There was a soft whistle as a pair of arrows sailed over their heads, then a thump as each one took out a guard at the opening of the enclosure.

Puck and Mustardseed were waiting with a larger force. Once her group got through and into the camp, they would lead their own men in, and then they would start to make some noise. But for now, it was up to the soft-footed members of the army to lead the way. Sabrina wasn't worried. All of them had been trained in the art of subterfuge, the sneaky thieves and soft footed spies of the camp. And it served them far better than even the invisibility enchantment that the witches had spread over them. Still, there was no need to take chances as they crept forwards in the dark, closing in on the gate.

They were to raise the gate, and kill anyone who might raise the alarm. Easy enough. Not.

They reached the gate, and Flynn Rider inched forwards, lock picks in hand as assessed the gate lock. "Deadbolted from the inside." He hissed to Sabrina, confirming the reports. "Scale the wall?"

She nodded, and gestured six of the force forwards "Scale the wall. Once inside, open the gates. Get rid of any problems. Got it?" The nodded, one of them unpacking rope from his backpack. "Pick the lock." She ordered, turning back to Flynn.

"Done." He stepped back, slipping his tools into his pocket and putting a hand on his sword hilt.

Sabrina gestured, and the group flattened themselves to the wall, waiting for the drawbridge to drop. With a soft thud, it did.

"Go." Sabrina led the way in, sword gleaming faintly in one hand, the other one held ready to signal her men to stop. The six she had sent, where were they?

A twig snapped, and she whirled around. A goblin grinned down at her, wicked teeth shining. "Hello, dearie." It cooed, and lunged. For a split second, Sabrina saw the army behind it before it attacked.

She brought her sword up, and a spray of blood rewarded her. The thing screamed, clawing at her with a single hand.

After that first move, movements blurred into each other. "Raise the alarm!" Sabrina screamed, scrabbling backwards as the goblin advanced.

"Get back here, you little bitch!" It swung at her again, missing by inches as she tried to lure it out of the gate.

"PUCK!" She roared in return, batting the hand away with a flick of her sword. A slight splatter of blood graced her cheek, informing her of the proximity of her enemy.

"He's not coming." It grinned, licking its lips as it advanced, feinting with what was left of its arm. "We took care of that!" It snarled, leaping forwards once more, only to meet steel.

Sabrina stared, gasping for breath as the goblin fell, eyes wide and face still snarled in death. Someone shouted, and her attention snapped back to the fort. Right. Her men. She sprinted back in, head still spinning from the goblin's taunt.

Inside was a blood bath. These soldiers were assassins, used to sneaking and killing quickly, not prolonged combat. She bolted forwards, attacking the beast standing over Rapunzel before whirling to slash out at a minotaur. There were too many of them. Far too many to fight, but there was no escape.

The fight lasted only minutes. A large hand knocked her to the ground as she swiped at an unseen opponent, and a different hand grabbed her by the neck. "Stop, or we kill the Grimm!" The owner shouted, pulling her upwards and into the air for the fighters to see.

Silence fell, and the huge wolf keeping Sabrina aloft grinned as his claws bit into the back of her neck. Sabrina gasped for air, clawing at the hand and kicking out. Almost absently, the wolf shook her. "Stop it, or else I will kill you, Grimm, whatever orders the Master may have given." He dropped her to the ground. "Tie her up. Kill the survivors."

"No!" Sabrina coughed, reaching out. Her only answer were the sounds of screaming and harsh laughter as the Scarlet Hand members leapt on their prisoners.

"Count yourself lucky that you aren't among them." The wolf snarled, planting a foot in her back and shoving her down as Little Boy Blue fell. "I said, tie her up!" He shouted.

Sabrina was dragged to her feet, rope looped and tugged tight around her hands. Across from her, her sword laid alone on the blood soaked ground.

~Sisters Grimm~

Well, that was a lot in one chapter.

Okay, so I know it's been more than two months. What can I say, school is a real time stealer. But hopefully, you'll get another chapter before I have to go back in two weeks.

Here are your review replies!

ReadingTilMidnight: Ah, the scars. Actually, they might be my favorite part of Sabrina at this point. I like the idea of a wounded hero. Thanks for your review!

OctaviaWithStarsForEyes: Thanks for reviewing, and so sorry it took me so long to update. It wasn't my choice, believe me! :) I can also promise that I'm not Michael Buckley, but thank you for the compliment. And Mirror's betrayal is coming very, very soon.

ShoreEvee: Have you ever ridden a horse with no prior experience? My sister made me, and believe me, you would hate Puck. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

93376: Well, I finally updated, even after that horribly long wait. I'm glad you liked it!

IAMAGUEST: Oh, no, Jacom is a separate character from Jacob. I actually didn't even put together the similarity of their names until you pointed it out. And I think there's a lot of kissing coming up! :D

Tara: Believe me, I know this story needs updated more often. And I'm really sorry about it. I love writing this, especially now that we're at the climax.

Guest: I updated! Glad you like it!

Guest: Thank you so much!

Okay, I gotta go. Don't forget to review!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Get moving." The wolf shoved Sabrina forwards. "And stop your sniveling." He growled.

Sabrina sobbed. They were dead. They were all dead. Rapunzel, and Flynn, and oh, what was she going to tell their friends? She had led them into a trap and now they were dead.

"I said shut up!" He backhanded her across the cheek, right over her scars. She reeled away, tripping backwards over the blood slickened ground and falling. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and she lay on the wet ground, gasping for breath as laughter echoed around her.

"Didn't the boss want her unharmed?" A reedy voice piped up as she was hauled once more to her feet, blinking blood and tears from her eyes. Her cheekbone was stinging, and when she reached up to touch it, blood came away. Her hands were roughly grabbed, and bound in front of her with rope, a lead left for someone to yank her along.

"Ain't our fault she charged into battle. Anyway, what does he want a sweet little girl for?" The wolf scoffed.

"Don't matter. He says he wants her alive and in one piece." A hand grabbed her face, and her scratches were inspected. She pulled violently away.

"Well, she's got all her limbs and her guts. That makes her in one piece, don't it? Now get on, you know he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Sabrina was tugged along, to her surprise, out of the camp. The wolf laughed at her surprise. "Oh no dearie, the Master has been with you all along. We're headed back the way you came. Hope you're ready for quite a hike." It was ten miles to her camp.

"What- what happened to everyone else?" She asked, obediently moving forwards. She was desperately flipping through her mental index of suspects. Who was the master? James Peach? No, he was too farm oriented. He didn't have the ambition. Chicken Little? Mordred? Or… Or was it Mirror? Her blood froze. It couldn't be Mirror. It couldn't. He was her friend. He wouldn't do this. Not the funny little bald man who liked to drink tea and talk about future plans over cookies. Not Mirror. But whoever it was had to be at camp, and Puck had suspected him all along.

 _"What happened to everyone else?"_ Someone behind her mocked. "They're not helping you, that's all you need to know."

Sabrina considered stabbing him. Instead she stumbled in a hole and fell. For some reason, the fall brought up all the despair and anger and uncertainty that she had been holding back, and before she registered it, she was sobbing. Her fingers curled into the cold Texas dust as she gasped for air, bawling like she used to when she was three and her mother told her that she couldn't have sugar before dinner. Only this wasn't sugar. This was about people, real ones, and about herself, and about what was going to happen next.

"Stoppit!" She was dragged roughly to her feet, a hand curled tightly around her bicep to keep her from falling again. "Oi, Gerald! Carry the human, will you?"

Someone or something lumbered forwards, and heaved her up off her feet, grunting with the effort. "Humans are heavier than they look." It grouched, slinging Sabrina, who was still sobbing, over one shoulder. "Dunno why you're so important. Just a human."

"And soon we'll rule them all!" Someone crowed. "And me? I'm gonna get me a nice mansion, the kind you see in the movies. With the marble floors and crystal chandeliers."

"Gonna be hell to keep clean."

"Ha! I'll have an army of slaves to do that! I'm going to track mud everywhere and they'll have to clean it up. That's what those humans get for spitting on Everafters all this years."

Gerald chose that moment to jolt Sabrina. "Aye. Personally, I want a nice little cottage in the woods, far away from everything. Time to just settle down and raise a family. We won't have to hide anymore. The kids could go to school, me and the wife could buy things, legally. No more fake IDs, no more moving every time someone notices we're not aging properly. And no more enchantments to just look like a person."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about legalese for a long time. We're going back to the old order. Not this democratic nonsense, but a real and proper kingdom. It'll take a while to establish that, and until then, we can live the Purge!"

"Why? What's you're big illegal thing? Drugs? Prostitution?"

"No more speed limits." A round of guffaws rose, reminding Sabrina of just how very much she hated them all. They had slaughtered her friends just minutes before, and they were acting like it didn't even matter. They were just talking about all the ways they could break the law now that there was no enforcement. Well, they weren't about to win. She would take care of that. She eyed the ropes around her wrists, calculating the knot and trying to recall what her father and later Puck had taught her about escaping.

The conversation continued around her as she was jostled along, twisting her wrists to and fro in the rope, attempting to work the knot loose. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that whoever had tied it had known what he was doing with the rough, thick fibers. She couldn't loosen the knot no matter how she tugged and twisted.

No one seemed to be noticing her attempts to get free either, though. Instead they were still joking about the things they planned to do now that victory was in their hands.

"Oi, girly!" Someone grabbed her hair, twisting her head to the side. She let out a muffled squawk of hurt and indignation. "You see that?" Whoever it was pointed into the distance. Sabrina squinted, trying to see the distant shape in the early morning light.

"It's that monster enclosure your ilk made when you got here." A raspy voice put in helpfully. "Now you behave and stop trying to escape, or we'll put whoever's left in your camp into it. Heard Everafters can't get out once they're in. Want to see all the people who were too weak to fight in there? Keep trying to slip those knots."

Sabrina blinked in horror at the speaker for a long second. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, if it were up to me, they'd be in there regardless. See how dangerous those monsters Oberon has kept away for all these years really are." One of crowd, a devastatingly handsome man, spoke up. "All these laws and regulations, and why? We were meant to rule over pitiful humans." He paused, smirking. It wasn't the kind of smug, "see-Grimm-I-told-you-so" smirk Puck displayed. It was nasty, all sharp edges and bared, pointed teeth. It was terrifying, and she believed him. "Humans like you. So I suggest that you do as you're told."

"We have to keep going. The Master expected us an hour ago." The creature carrying Sabrina intoned, shifting his weight and breaking off the staring match.

The group moved forwards again, this time faster, as if in fear of the consequences of taking their time.

Time raced faster than Sabrina's mind as she tried to come up with an escape plan. Before she knew it, they were outside of the fort's gates. The group came to a halt, and Sabrina was set down.

"Get them open." The man from before snarled, gesturing at the gates. A head poked over the wall, staring down at them. Gepetto.

"Miss Grimm?" His wavering voice filtered down to her. "Is everything alright?"

What a ridiculous question. She was tied up, there was no sign of her army, and everyone around her was covered in blood. A hot streak of irrational anger flashed through her thoughts. "No." She called up sharply. "Surrender the base. We've been defeated." With no sign of Puck, and no hope of reinforcements, it would be only a matter of time before those left at camp were starved out and then slaughtered. If they cooperated, there might still be a chance for some of them to come out alive. "Magic, doors and all." She added, remembering the enchantments that had been set up to ward off anyone unknown.

Gepetto disappeared, and silence fell for a moment. Then the great doors creaked open, finalizing defeat.

"Finally." Gerald pushed forwards. "Time to meet the master."

Sabrina didn't resist as she was tugged forwards through the gate, not as a victorious officer, but as a war prisoner with an uncertain fate.

All her fighting had been for nothing. No parents, and now, no Faerie family to protect the Everafters. They had been defeated, and now there was no way to know the future.


	31. Author's Note

Hey, everyone!

I'm sorry about my very, very long absence. You know how people talk about college being so tough? Yeah. It is.

But I'm back now, and promising to finish this story this summer.

Oh, and if you saw that I updated, but you don't follow the story, you probably want to go back a chapter. This is purely author's note.

Here are your review replies!

Arabella Quinn: Yeah, I missed writing Puckabrina. There wasn't any at all in the last chapter, but hey. Some will appear soon. Thank you for your review!

ShoreEevee: I haven't ridden a horse in a very long time. And I'm glad for it. It's a weird rocking motion. That you for your review!

quillandspindle: I don't remember if I replied to your review before or not. Anyway, I'm really glad you liked the part about the scars. I was so afraid that it would read wrong: too awkward or too sappy, or not romantic enough. So I'm really relieved that it was okay. Like you said though, it wasn't great. I might need to rewrite it. But thank you for talking about it!

Guest 1: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

There were more reviewers, all asking if I was going to update and continue the story, but I think you have your answer. I am going to continue to write, I already have my next idea (Hint: think an old fashioned fairy tale with new fangled characters), and I cannot wait to finish!

Thank you all for your concern, kind words, and encouragement! I can't wait to deliver the ending to you!

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass

Indeedanending: Thank you so much for your kind review! And I'm sorry that it took so long to get back to you. But the ending is coming soon, in just a few chapters.

Iwalkedherefromaustralia: Interesting penname you have there. I think this story is going to end at around 35 chapters. But thank you for your very kind words! Although the updates have been sporadic at best lately, I hope that I can finish this story this summer.

Guest 2: Thank you so much for your review! I really enjoyed reading it. As for how all of this is going to play out, you'll just have to wait and see. :)

Guest 3: Yeah, they kissed! About damn time. I've been wanting to add it since about chapter 10, but it never felt just right. Glad you enjoyed it!

Guest 4: Well, 4 months after your review, I return. But I didn't abandon the story, so there is that! Thank you for your review, and hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"Come on, girl." Sabrina was tugged through the entrance.

A crowd of her friends, the Everafters and people she had come to know, were standing silently inside, grim faced and she knew that they knew what was coming. Around them, the camp stood as it had been since Mustardseed had granted it his approval. The sheds, barracks, and mess hall remained unknowing that everything had changed, that soon, the camp would be destroyed, the inhabitants prisoners of their enemy.

Dust curled into the air as the Scarlet Hand army came to a halt, standing inside the gates with no resistance to be offered. Sabrina was pushed to the front, to stand before them. The army general who had come back defeated. Who had designed their ruin. Who may have led their loved ones to their death. She could not, would not, meet their eyes. Instead, she accepted the gazes of friend and foe alike, standing tall to take the blame.

"Oh, Liebling." Relda started to step forwards, but Mr. Canis held her back. Sabrina had never loved him before, but now, as he protected her grandmother, she did.

"This the grandmother?" Gerald snarled. Sabrina ignored him, standing tall, head lifted, roped together hands clasped in front of her. The wolf creature from earlier growled, thrusting his snout close to her face. His wet breath skimmed her cheek, her scars, and then retreated.

"If she ain't, it's not like it'll take long to find one old lady in a group of useless chumps." He answered. "Take her. They need to meet the master."

"Where's the house?" The demand came, as Sabrina knew it would. The enemy had been among them all along. And it was Mirror. It had to be. Gepetto pointed, indicating his own surrender.

"Come on then." Sabrina was marched forwards, towards the house where they had planned so much, and now had lost.

The familiar white façade became visible as they rounded the corner of the hospital. Up the front porch steps, then into the kitchen, to the upstairs, to her Grandmother's mirror. Gerald opened the door, and there the mirror stood, Mirror's face waiting anxiously in the frame.

"Starfish!" He beamed. "And Relda, my old friend."

"Mirror?" Relda whispered, heartbroken.

"The one and only." He replied happily. He frowned. "Could you step inside? This is very awkward. And you, get those ropes off her. Did I tell you to do that?"

There was a small rush of activity, in which Sabrina was freed and Granny was helped to step into the mirror frame.

"After you."

And Sabrina stepped through the frame, the familiar tingly, waterfall feel of the mirror bending to let her through.

Mirror stood in the hall, a beaming smile in place as his army followed Sabrina in. It dropped as his eyes fell to the fresh scratches on her cheek. "Who did that?" He strode forwards to examine the marks more closely, before glaring at his army.

They parted, revealing the wolf. Mirror glared at him, then raised his hand. For a long second, he held it in the air. Sabrina flinched as he snapped his fingers.

All that was left was a smear of ash.

"Well, I never liked him anyway." Mirror adjusted his jacket, and turned back to smile at Sabrina. "Come Starfish, and you too, my old friend." He offered Relda a sunny smile. "There are some things we need to discuss." He ushered them forwards into the room that Sabrina had sat in so many times, talking about her problems, listening to his stories, seeking homework help when everyone else was just too busy.

Familiar rose colored walls and mint green chairs greeted her, the fireplace crackling cheerfully with a kettle whistling above it. The tea set was already set out, macaroons piled neatly in the center.

"You can wait out here. I'm sure I'll have no need for you, so why don't you go explore. Don't touch anything, though." Mirror shooed his army away before closing the door. "Won't you sit?" He addressed Sabrina and Relda, indicating the chairs.

Sabrina only glared at him.

"I'm afraid I must insist, Starfish." He raised his hand, turning her joints to wood and settling her into one of the armchairs. "Must I do the same for you, Relda?" He turned to the old woman.

"No thank you. I believe I can manage." Relda replied, carefully sitting down.

"Tea?" Mirror didn't wait for any replies, but began to pour it into the cups, and prepare it. He handed Sabrina hers, colored a light tan with a lot of creamer and two lumps of sugar. Just how she had always liked it. "And Relda, of course." Hers was obviously prepared to her taste as well.

Mirror sat down, his own cup held in one hand, his saucer in the other. "Where to begin. Oh, yes. Your family." He smiled benevolently. "They've been here all along. I am sorry for making you worry, but rest assured, they are alive and in perfect health."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you." Sabrina ground out, her cup clutched between her hands.

"Oh, I'll prove it. After we're done here." Mirror sipped from his cup. "But they had to be removed. Your parents were in danger of making the Everafter world a united community under Oberon. If they had succeeded, I would never have been able to take it down. Or," He paused, mulling over his own words, "at the very least, it would have taken far more effort. But for the sake of my dear Relda I couldn't do it the easy way. I had a sleeping spell placed on them, and kept them safe here. But your warding made it far too dangerous to take you. Who knows how more magic would have affected you? We already knew you were allergic, and couldn't mess with it. I was working on it when the royal Faerie family took you in.

"After that, you were heavily guarded. So instead of wasting all my time trying to get one human girl, I turned to take down the royal family. Oberon was first. Killing him was almost too easy. Moth… It was not necessary, but she had given us all the information she knew after your little faerie friend jilted her. Who was to say she wasn't a double agent? She was similarly disposed of.

"By then, the royal family was too on guard to attack. We had to lure them out here. Placed the millionaire who's property you selected, put in spies to whisper fear into your soldiers. And it worked. Puck brought you all here. We managed to strike down Titiana, but the princes evaded us. More battles had to be pitched, but here we are at last."

"Where's everyone else?" Sabrina ground out. Mirror had given her back control of her body, but there was no point in pushing it, not yet.

"Oh, Puck and Mustardseed and all the others?" Mirror sat back. "They should be back soon. I spared them. I know how fond you are. Besides, one demonstration of destruction is enough, don't you think? Macaroon?" He offered them first to Relda, then to Sabrina. When neither of them took one, he frowned setting them back on the table and selecting one for himself. "I understand that it will take time to forgive me, but it was nothing against either of you. I want you to know that."

"But why, old friend?" Relda asked brokenly. Her lips were trembling as steam from her tea reached up to cup her face. "Why so much death and hatred?"

"Hatred? No such thing." He shook his head. "Simply a means to an end. I have been trapped in this mirror for so long. So very long. A spirit captured from the timeless earth and forced into an inescapable prison to do what? Catalog items and answer stupid questions? Forgive me if I want to escape. And Everafters have been scorned since the dawn of time. Why should they not want freedom? This war, as are all wars, is about something. Maybe you don't realize when you fight it, but there is no turning back from the outcome. And I do not want to turn away. I want freedom. I want my followers to be free. I don't want to have to hide because I have been blessed with magic."

The worst of all of this, beyond death, defeat, and an uncertain future, was that Mirror's words made sense. He was, in his own way, right. But he was also wrong.

"So you want to enslave humans?"

"It's only what they did to us." Mirror shrugged. "Although it's not my plan, I admit. I was picturing more of… aristocracy and peasants. Not slave and master."

"And you want them to feel the same way as you? Because that won't end in blood."

"So what if it does?" Mirror frowned. "It won't be mine. But it won't come to that because I don't intend to rule over all of this. I want you to."

"Me? No thanks." Sabrina snorted, setting her cup aside. The tea was cold. She would not become a pawn in his play anymore than she was already guilty of.

"Yes. You are young, idealistic, and I believe you can reign with fairness. Marry that Faerie, and create a line of rulers like you."

"First off, no way in hell. Second, I'm eighteen. This isn't the medieval ages. And I thought you wanted the royal family dead?"

"I thought about it. It was my decided plan, at first. But now that Oberon is gone, I am amazed at how resourceful his sons are. I would have never guessed that they would be capable of anything on this level, but it seems that they would be quite capable of helping you to keep order. They have the experience you lack, and you have the perspective and ideas they will need."

"What makes you think that they will do this?" Relda asked, finally speaking. She was gray with the horror of the betrayal, but she seemed to be rallying.

"They have already started." Mirror refilled Relda's cup. "Many of their allies were once enemies. I'm sure they can get all Everafters to work seamlessly together. And if the Everafters and the humans work together, imagine the accomplishments that can be made through science and magic together. But that can be worked out later." He beamed as he set down the tea pot. Sabrina had a sickening feeling that she wouldn't like what he was about to say. At least, she would like it less than anything else he had said so far.

"How would you like to be immortal?"

Hey, everyone!

That was a ton of dialogue, and I think Mirror sounded more like a Bond villain than need be. Oh well.

Anyway, this was promised about what, a month ago? Well, the internet at home is down, so I had to upload this at work. So I'm sorry, but there are no review replies here.

Hope you enjoyed it!

'TIl next time!

-The Irish Lass


End file.
